three o'clock
in the morning
he asked . `` Does learning flourish under the present dynasty ? '' `` I do n't know , '' replied Marian for the seventh time , but she did not as usual stop there , and continued , `` they think one knows nothing unless one has learnt all manner of dates , and latitudes , and such things . Not one of them knew Orion when they saw him in the sky , and yet even Clara thought me dreadfully stupid because I could not find out on the globe the altitude of Beta in Serpentarius , at New Orleans , at three o'clock in the morning . '' Edmund could not help laughing at her half-complaining , half-humorous tone , and this encouraged her to proceed . `` In history they do n't care whether a man is good or bad ; they only care when he lived . O Edmund , the lists of names and dates , kings and Roman emperors -- . ''