eight o'clock
And so she prepared herself for that tryst with her Beloved in a foreign land where all was strange and unfamiliar about her : yet He was hourly drawing nearer , and she cried to Him day by day in these words so redolent to her with associations of past communions , and of moments of great spiritual elevation . The very use of the prayer this week was like a breeze of flowers to one in a wilderness . On the Saturday night she ceremoniously washed her feet as her father had taught her ; and lay down happier than she had been for days past , for to-morrow would bring the Lover of her soul . On the Sunday all the household was astir early at their prayers , and about half-past eight o'clock all , including the servants who had just returned from the five o'clock service , assembled in the dining-room ; the noise of the feet of those returning from church had ceased on the pavement of the square outside , and all was quiet except for the solemn sound of the bells , as Dr. Carrington offered extempore prayer for all who were fulfilling the Lord 's ordinance on that day . And Isabel once more felt her heart yearn to a God who seemed Love after all . St. Sepulchre 's was nearly full when they arrived . The mahogany table had been brought down from the eastern wall to beneath the cupola , and stood there with a large white cloth , descending almost to the ground on every side ; and a row of silver vessels , flat plates and tall new Communion cups and flagons , shone upon it .