ten o’clock
He saw only the one sovereign which , with astounded eyes , he still gazed at on his palm , and the vision of the sovereign that was yet to come . `` Scandit aeratas vitiosa naves Cura ; nee turmas equitum relinquit . '' It was the Selfishness of London , calm and stolid , whether on the track of innocence or at the command of guile . At half-past ten o'clock Percival St. John was seated in his room , and the sweeper stood at the threshold . Wealth and penury seemed brought into visible contact in the persons of the visitor and the host . The dwelling is held by some to give an index to the character of the owner ; if so , Percival 's apartments differed much from those generally favoured by young men of rank and fortune . On the one hand , it had none of that affectation of superior taste evinced in marqueterie and gilding , or the more picturesque discomfort of high-backed chairs and mediaeval curiosities which prevails in the daintier abodes of fastidious bachelors ; nor , on the other hand , had it the sporting character which individualizes the ruder juveniles qui gaudent equis , betrayed by engravings of racers and celebrated fox-hunts , relieved , perhaps , if the Nimrod condescend to a cross of the Lovelace , with portraits of figurantes , and ideals of French sentiment entitled , `` Le Soir , '' or `` La Reveillee , '' `` L'Espoir , '' or `` L'Abandon . ''