nine o'clock
Oh , surely that would be the greatest tragedy of all ! Claire 's quick brain summoned pictures of Cecil creeping down the oil-clothed stairs in her dressing-gown at the sound of the postman 's earliest knock , and creeping back with no letter in her hand ; of Cecil entering the little parlour on her return from work with a swift hungry look at the table on which the day 's letters were displayed ; seeing no letter lying there ; never , never the letter for which she watched ! And the days would pass , and the weeks , and the months , and the old routine of life would go on just the same . Whatever might be her private sufferings , the English mistress must be at her post each morning at nine o'clock ; she must wrestle all day with the minds of dull girls , listless girls , clever girls , girls who were eager to learn , and girls whose energies seemed condensed in the effort to avoid learning at all . However sore might be the English mistress 's heart , it was her duty to be bright and alert ; however exhausted her own stock of patience , she must still be a female Job in her treatment of her many pupils . A school-mistress must banish her individuality as a woman on the threshold of the form-room ; while on duty she must banish every outside interest from her mind . No lying in bed , with her face to the pillow ; no weeping far into the night .