midnight
In the winter which followed upon Mutimer 's downfall , Nicholas Dabbs fell ill and died . He was married but had no children , and his wife had been separated from him for several years . His brother Daniel found himself in flourishing circumstances , with a public-house which brought in profits of forty pounds a week It goes without saying that Daniel forthwith abandoned his daily labour and installed himself behind the bar . The position suited him admirably ; with a barmaid and a potman at his orders -LRB- he paid them no penny more than the market rate -RRB- , he stood about in his shirt sleeves and gossiped from morn to midnight with such of his friends as had leisure -LRB- and money -RRB- to spend in the temple of Bacchus . From the day that saw him a licensed victualler he ceased to attend the Socialist meetings ; it was , of course , a sufficient explanation to point to the fact that he could not be in two places at the same time , for Sunday evening is a season of brisk business in the liquor trade . At first he was reticent on the subject of his old convictions , but by degrees he found it possible to achieve the true innkeeper 's art , and speak freely in a way which could offend none of his customers . And he believed himself every bit as downright and sincere as he had ever been .