About ten o'clock
And when she was more lucky and had steps to clean , then the wet and grime of the hearthstone made her poor gown more worn and soiled and evil-looking than ever , while her shoes were in such a state that it was hard , by much mending every evening , to keep them from falling to pieces . Every day seemed to bring her nearer to the end , when she would be compelled to sit down and say `` I can do no more -- I must starve '' ; yet with the little renewal of strength which the evening meal and drearily-expressed sympathy of her friend and the night 's rest would bring her , she would go forth each morning to wander about for another day . Ten or twelve days had gone by in this way , and acting on a little practical advice given by the poor laundrywoman , she had forsaken the neighbourhood of squares and big houses close to Hyde Park to go further afield into the district lying west of Westbourne Grove , where the houses were smaller , and fewer servants were kept in them . About ten o'clock one morning she stopped before a house in Dawson Place , a wide clean street of pretty detached , moderate-sized houses , each with a garden in front and a larger garden and trees behind . The house had a trim well-kept appearance , and five or six broad white steps led up to the front door , which was painted deep blue . Fan , looking critically at the steps , could not make out whether they had been already cleaned or not , so white and clean , yet dry , did they look . And the steps of all the houses in Dawson Place had the same white look , so that there seemed no chance of anything for her to do there ; but she felt tired already , and stood resting beside the area gate , not venturing to ring .