four
o'clock
`` Not much of the Widow Hullins touch about this ! '' he reflected privately . And he wished that all rent-collecting might be done with such ease , and amid such surroundings , as this particular piece of rent-collecting . He saw what a fine thing it was to be a free man , under orders from nobody ; not many men in Bursley were in a position to accept invitations to four o'clock tea at a day 's notice . Further 5 per cent . on thirty pounds was thirty shillings , so that if he stayed an hour -- and he meant to stay an hour -- he would , while enjoying himself , be earning money steadily at the rate of sixpence a minute . It was the ideal of a business career .