five o’clock in the evening
As to the mountains which encase it , they form a branch of the Toungouzes , and are derived from the vast system of the Altai . In this territory , subject to peculiar climatical conditions , the autumn appears to be absorbed in the precocious winter . It was now the beginning of October . The sun set at five o'clock in the evening , and during the long nights the temperature fell to zero . The first snows , which would last till summer , already whitened the summits of the neighboring hills . During the Siberian winter this inland sea is frozen over to a thickness of several feet , and is crossed by the sleighs of caravans . Either because there are people who are so wanting in politeness as to call it `` Sir Lake , '' or for some more meteorological reason , Lake Baikal is subject to violent tempests .