nine o'clock
He was so elated after his first disappointment , that he did not find the meeting as wearisome as usual -- he could see Henrietta . Moreover , the sacred words and the singing made so great an impression on one who had long been absent from such things that he was much affected , and thanked the Almighty , who had sent him a brief but bitter trial , that he might the better learn how all things worked together for his good . As soon as the hymn was finished , the daughters of the house brought in tea and bread and butter . After a grace from Endre Egeland , they all ate well , and drank much tea ; and at nine o'clock the party broke up . When Worse returned to his own rooms , and saw Madame Torvestad 's guests crossing the market-place as they left her house , he hardly knew whether to be amused or angry at having been compelled to spend his first evening on shore among such people . There among them he observed Endre Egeland , whose moral reputation was none of the best , and Sivert Jespersen , who had overreached him so confoundedly in the matter of the salt . `` If Randulf should hear of all this ! ''