ten
o'clock
A person of lean visage , who constituted himself a delegate from the Century Club , begged to inform the major that the club was composed of poor but very respectable literary persons , who eschewed liquors and cigars , and were about introducing a by-law for the admission of ladies , which it was hoped would prove a regulator to the good conduct of all aspiring youths . The club , he knew , would be most happy to make him a member . A delegation from the Knickerbocker represented their club as the most cosy place imaginable ; as for the members , they had so strong a turn for literature , that they had elected a grocer for president , and an actor for secretary . A visit from him would indeed be held as a high honor ; and as it was strictly forbidden that any member discover inebriation before ten o'clock , he could not fail of spending a cheerful hour with them . Each brought some such powerful argument to sustain their comparative claims to his favorable consideration . He also received invitations to visit various factories , and become a member of certain charitable societies for the taking care of widows and orphans , and poor authors with large families . In truth , one might have thought they imagined him a man capable of conquering the world with thirty thousand troops , such was the plentiful pile of invitations spread over his table .