five o'clock
Or he might have been any one of a hundred unfortunate things . He took life too seriously , that was evident ; a larger degree of mental irresponsibility would be followed by a more responsible accomplishment of the realities which bore no more heavily on him than on other men ; and in this the cocktails had their office . * * * * * Lee agreed readily , therefore , when , on Friday afternoon , Fanny asked him to bring Helena and Gregory from dancing-school . This was held in the Armory ; and , past five o'clock , mounting the wide stone steps in the early gloom and going through the bare echoing hall , he joined the complacent mothers ranged in chairs pushed against the wall in a spirit of interested attention . The Armory , following the general literal interpretation of the sternness of military usage , was gaunt , with a wide yellow floor and walls of unconcealed brick . In a far corner , on a temporary and unpainted platform , the pianist sat with her hands raised , her wrists rigid , preparatory to the next demand upon her strongly accentuated playing . Lee was surprised at the large number of children ranged in an irregular ring about the erect brittle presence and insistent voice of the instructor .