eight
o'clock in the evening
The tables for dinner were laid out in the garden , for it was a beautiful warm autumnal day . We sat down about twenty , and a merrier party I never was at . Old Waghorn was the only one who got tipsy on the occasion , and it was very ridiculous to hear him quoting scraps of Scripture in extenuation , and then calling himself a poor blind old sinner . It was not till eight o'clock in the evening that the party broke up , and I had then some difficulty to persuade some to go away . As for the old man , he had been put to bed an hour before . I staid a few minutes after all were gone , and then , kissing Jane , and shaking hands with Bob , I went back to Portsmouth . As soon as I was at home again , the events of the day , from association of ideas , naturally brought Minnie Vanderwelt into my head , and I recollected that I had not written to her since my promotion and appointment to the Circe ; I therefore sat down and indited a long letter , ending with expressing my regret at not having received an answer from the many I had written , especially the last , which informed them of my arrival in England , and gave them the knowledge where to address me .