ten o'clock
He was sorely distressed by Britt 's apparent reluctance to compromise the case without mature deliberation . `` You see , old chap , '' mused Deppingham , after their departure , `` matrimony is no trifling thing , after all . No matter whether it contemplates a garden in Hammersmith or an island in the South Seas , it has its drawbacks . '' The charity ball began at ten o'clock , schedule time . If all of those who participated were not in perfect sympathy with the spirit of the mad whim , they at least did not deport themselves after the fashion of wet blankets . To be quite authentic , but two of the promoters were heartily involved in the travesty -- Lady Agnes , whose sprightliness was never dormant , and Bobby Browne , who shone in the glamour of his first encounter with the nobility . Drusilla Browne , asserting herself as an American matron , insisted that the invitation list should include the lowly as well as the mighty .