a quarter to six
Then , in solitude , he ate and drank , often sitting , in cold weather , on a little stool with his back to the warm chimney-piece , his food on the fender , his cup on the hearth . And then he read the last night 's newspaper -- what of it he could -- spelling it over laboriously . He preferred to keep the blinds down and the candle lit even when it was daylight ; it was the habit of the mine . At a quarter to six he rose , cut two thick slices of bread and butter , and put them in the white calico snap-bag . He filled his tin bottle with tea . Cold tea without milk or sugar was the drink he preferred for the pit . Then he pulled off his shirt , and put on his pit-singlet , a vest of thick flannel cut low round the neck , and with short sleeves like a chemise .