the hours after
midnight
In his bedroom at a country house he always looked first at the books on the shelf and the prints on the walls ; he considered that these things gave a sort of measure of the culture and even of the character of his hosts . Though he had but little time to devote to them on this occasion a cursory inspection assured him that if the literature , as usual , was mainly American and humorous the art consisted neither of the water-colour studies of the children nor of ` goody ' engravings . The walls were adorned with old-fashioned lithographs , principally portraits of country gentlemen with high collars and riding gloves : this suggested -- and it was encouraging -- that the tradition of portraiture was held in esteem . There was the customary novel of Mr. Le Fanu , for the bedside ; the ideal reading in a country house for the hours after midnight . Oliver Lyon could scarcely forbear beginning it while he buttoned his shirt . Perhaps that is why he not only found every one assembled in the hall when he went down , but perceived from the way the move to dinner was instantly made that they had been waiting for him . There was no delay , to introduce him to a lady , for he went out in a group of unmatched men , without this appendage .