three o'clock
Lady De la Zouch , and one or two others of their considerate friends , observing the painful emotions with which Lady Drelincourt and Miss Aubrey were very nearly overcome , succeeded in withdrawing them for a while from the tumultuous scene into their chambers . A splendid cold collation was spread in the hall for the immediate friends and guests of Lord Drelincourt , while an immense entertainment , of a more substantial description , was prepared under an awning , upon the beautiful terrace at the back of the Hall , for about three hundred people , consisting principally of the tenantry , their families and friends . -LRB- Half-a-dozen feasts were going on in the village , for those who were necessarily -- from want of room -- excluded from the terrace tables . -RRB- The substantial business of the day -- viz. feasting -- was to commence , both for gentle and simple , at three o'clock , shortly before which period Lady Drelincourt and Miss Aubrey appeared in the drawing-room , and then in the hall , infinitely the better for their refreshing toilets . 'T is true that their eyes looked somewhat impaired by the excessive emotions occasioned by the events of the day -- for they had both been several times , during their brief absence , on the verge of hysterics ; yet for all that they looked a pair of as lovely women as dear Old England , rich in delicate beauty as it is , could produce . They both wore plain white muslin dresses , with small blue rosettes , which Lady De la Zouch had intimated would give a certain person infinite gratification -- meaning the new member for the borough ; for his colors were blue -- whereof there was a modest glimpse in his own surtout . Lord Drelincourt also appeared greatly the better for his visit to his dressing-room , and was in the highest possible spirits -- as well he might be , amid a scene so glorious and triumphant as that around him ; all people , high and low , rich and poor , without distinction of party , vying with one another in doing him honor , and welcoming him back to the halls of his ancestors .