about ten o’clock
This was intolerable . Of the two extremes , I found I preferred the British tory ; and , making an appointment for the morrow , I pleaded sudden headache , escaped to the inn , packed my knapsack , and fled , about nine at night , from this accursed neighbourhood . It was cold , starry , and clear , and the road dry , with a touch of frost . For all that , I had not the smallest intention to make a long stage of it ; and about ten o'clock , spying on the right-hand side of the way the lighted windows of an alehouse , I determined to bait there for the night . It was against my principle , which was to frequent only the dearest inns ; and the misadventure that befell me was sufficient to make me more particular in the future . A large company was assembled in the parlour , which was heavy with clouds of tobacco smoke , and brightly lighted up by a roaring fire of coal . Hard by the chimney stood a vacant chair in what I thought an enviable situation , whether for warmth or the pleasure of society ; and I was about to take it , when the nearest of the company stopped me with his hand .