eleven o'clock
I had eight or ten miles to walk , so far from the town being the residence of these people ; and I forthwith repaired to their dwelling . The persons whom I desired to see were known to me only by name , and by their place of abode . It was a mother and her three daughters to whom I now carried the means not only of competence but riches ; means which they , no doubt , had long ago despaired of regaining , and which , among all possible messengers , one of my age and guise would be the least suspected of being able to restore . I arrived , through intricate ways , at eleven o'clock , at the house of Mrs. Maurice . It was a neat dwelling , in a very fanciful and rustic style , in the bosom of a valley , which , when decorated by the verdure and blossoms of the coming season , must possess many charms . At present it was naked and dreary . As I approached it , through a long avenue , I observed two female figures , walking arm-in-arm and slowly to and fro , in the path in which I now was .