six o'clock
He was very pale : but that unchanging pallor was the only sign of the malady from which he suffered . He rose early , rode for a couple of hours upon his chestnut horse Dragon , and then breakfasted . After breakfast he sat in his luxurious sitting-room , sometimes reading , sometimes writing , sometimes sitting for hours together brooding silently over the low embers in the roomy fireplace . At six o'clock he dined , still keeping to his own room -- for he was not well enough to dine with his daughter , he said : and he sat alone late into the night , drinking heavily , according to the report current in the servants ' hall . He was respected and he was feared in his household : but he was not liked . His silent and reserved manner had a gloomy influence upon the servants who came in contact with him : and they compared him very disadvantageously with his predecessor , Percival Dunbar ; the genial , kind , old master , who had always had a cheerful , friendly word for every one of his dependants : from the stately housekeeper in rustling silken robes , to the smallest boy employed in the stables . No , the new master of the abbey was not liked .