midnight
It might have proved remunerative had he known anything of motor-cars , but I was more than glad he did not , for I have always considered machinery to be unrefined . Much I preferred that he be a company promoter or something of that sort in the city , knowing about bonds and debentures , as many of the best of our families are not above doing . It seemed all he could do with propriety , having failed in examinations for the army and the church , and being incurably hostile to politics , which he declared silly rot . Sharply at midnight I aroused myself from these gloomy thoughts and breathed a long sigh of relief . Both gipsy and psychic expert had failed in their prophecies . With a lightened heart I set about the preparations I knew would be needed against the Honourable George 's return . Strong in my conviction that he would not have been able to resist lobster , I made ready his hot foot-bath with its solution of brine-crystals and put the absorbent fruit-lozenges close by , together with his sleeping-suit , his bed-cap , and his knitted night-socks .