one o'clock
It was a dreadful experience of life , though , that first day at school . Well might the children have prayed with David -- `` Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord , for his mercies are great ; and let us not fall into the hand of man . '' And well might the children at many another school respond with a loud _ Amen _ ! At one o'clock they were dismissed , and went home to dinner , to return at three . In the afternoon she was set to make figures on a slate . She made figures till her back ached . The monotony of this occupation was relieved only by the sight of the execution of criminal law upon various offending boys ; for , as must be already partially evident , the master was a hard man , with a severe , if not an altogether cruel temper , and a quite savage sense of duty .