two o'clock
He sat at a table with three or four companions , all arrayed in rags , and drank cold tea from a vinegar jar . Rosie came in , and taking Joel by the sleeve , sang : '' _ Father , dear father , come home with me now , The clock in the steeple strikes one , You said you were coming right home from the shop , As soon as your day 's work was done . _ '' Then from behind the curtain some of the bigger girls , led by Martha Ellen Robertson , sang softly : '' _ Come home , come home , Please , father , dear father , come home . _ '' Rosie sang another verse at two o'clock , and still another at three , singing the hands right round to twelve , and still the obdurate Joel sat immovable and still drank tea . It had been considered , even by Miss Hillary , one of the best pieces on the programme , and Elizabeth was almost as excited over it as she was over her dialogue . And to-night Rosie looked so beautiful in her white dress and pink bow that Elizabeth felt sure Mrs. Jarvis would think her the sweetest , dearest girl in the whole wide world . But what was the dismay of all the singer 's friends , and the rage and humiliation of the singer 's mother , when she emerged from Miss Hillary 's hands and stood before the audience !