nine o'clock
Her laugh was the loudest and her zeal for a good time the strongest . She entered into the revels with zest , prompted Nellie Gibson to exhibitions of mimicry , recited , cleverly told anecdotes evolved from her own experiences , played , sang , danced and cheered for the host and hostess . It was well there were no neighbors to complain . Jim , I have been told , was completely fascinated early in the evening , and his devotions became marked by nine o'clock ; by ten o'clock he was lost to all the rest of the company in beholding her . Early the following year he was happy only when dancing with her , singing so that his top notes blended with hers at short range , or helping her to hear the chimes at one of the round windows . At 3 o'clock he started for Ninety-sixth Street with Gabrielle -- her mother and father were not present -- and there is no record of the time he reached our flat . That was the beginning of a courtship which was carried on without the assistance of the middleman of former years , until the unexpected interference of the father-in-law threw the case into my expert hands .