eleven o'clock in the evening
She bowed a grave response . `` This is surprising news , '' said I. `` And grant me leave to tell you that a woman of mature years , possessed of an abundant fortune and unassailable gentility , does not by ordinary sneak out of the kitchen door to meet a raddle-faced actor in the middle of the night . 'T is , indeed , a circumstance to stagger human credulity . Oh , believe me , madam , for a virtuous woman the back garden is not a fitting approach to the altar , nor is a comedian an appropriate companion there at eleven o'clock in the evening . '' `` Hey , my fine fellow , '' says my wife , `` and what were you doing in the back garden ? '' `` Among all true lovers , '' I returned , `` it is an immemorial custom to prowl like sentinels beneath the windows of the beauteous adored . And I , madam , had the temerity to aspire toward an honorable union with your granddaughter . ''