four o'clock
This interesting portion of the chapel remains intact , and the entrance to it lies upon the level of the floor according to ancient custom , being so ordered that the adult to undergo baptism might step down into the water , and that not without dignity . Hither came Joan . Her patchwork of faith and Nature-worship was a live thing to her now , and she found no difficulty in reconciling the sweet saint-stories heard in childhood from her dead mother 's lips , with the beautiful and fair exposition of truth which `` Mister Jan '' found written large upon the world by Nature in spring-time . It was half-past four o'clock when she trudged through Madron to see the gray church and the little gray houses all sleeping under the gray sky . She plodded on up the hill past the gaunt workhouse which stands at the top of it ; and what had seemed soft , sweet repose among the cottage homes , felt like cold death beneath these ashy walls . To Joan , the workhouse was a word of shame unutterable . Those among whom she lived would hurl the word against enemies as a prophecy of the utmost degradation .