eight o'clock
Hitherto , on occasions , he had done nothing more disagreeable than to open the parlor door furtively , cast one wild look inside , and then suddenly withdraw his head , gently slamming the door after him . The play of the evening was written `` expressly for the occasion '' by a gentleman who had produced one melodrama at a Bowery theatre , and failed to produce a large number of melodramas at all the theatres in Broadway . Mrs. Slapman , a true patroness of genius , kindly permitted this gentleman to prepare all her charades , and gratified him , on several occasions by bringing out some of the minor plays from his stuffed portfolio . By eight o'clock all the chairs were filled , and the actors and actresses were still lingering over their toilet . After waiting ten minutes longer , and crossing and uncrossing their legs repeatedly , the audience stamped and whistled very much in the manner of an impatient crowd at a real theatre . Mrs. Slapman relished these little ebullitions of natural feeling , because it made the illusion of her `` Thespian parlor '' -LRB- as she called it -RRB- more complete . At eight and a quarter o'clock , the orchestra , consisting of two flutes and a violin , issued from behind the curtain , and seated itself before some music stands ranged against the wall .