four o'clock
At any rate , this we know , that , at the early hour of five in the morning , as regularly as the morning came , the old stone-breaker had already commenced his monotonous labour . But this was not all . He had also , by this early hour , walked upwards of four miles -- for so far distant was the scene of his occupation from the place of his residence , Edinburgh . He must , therefore , have left home between three and four o'clock , and this was his daily round , without intermission , without variation , and without relaxation . A bottle of butter-milk and a penny loaf formed each day 's sustenance . His daily earnings , labouring from five in the morning till six at night , averaged about ninepence ! Hear ye this , ye who ride in emblazoned carriages !