ten minutes past nine o'clock
IT was ten minutes past nine , and Tom , * with a sonorous voice , was ordering all College gates to be shut , when the wine party , which had just left Mr. Bouncer 's room , passed round the corner of St. Mary 's , and dashed across the High . The Town and Gown had already begun . -- * The great bell of Christ Church . It tolls 101 times each evening at ten minutes past nine o'clock -LRB- there being 101 students on the foundation -RRB- and marks the time for the closing of the college gates . `` Tom '' is one of the lions of Oxford . It formerly belonged to Oseney Abbey , and weighs about 17,000 pounds , being more than double the weight of the great bell of St. Paul 's . -LSB- 146 ADVENTURES OF MR. VERDANT GREEN -RSB- As usual , the Town had taken the initiative ; and , in a dense body , had made their customary sweep of the High Street , driving all before them .