nine o'clock
He called upon Thomas Hutchinson , governor ; upon Thomas Flucker , secretary ; and upon the officials of the Custom House . He accepted many invitations to dinner from gentlemen and ladies , and took excursions into the country on horseback . Lady Frankland hospitably entertained him in her country house , where he enjoyed himself shooting squirrels and partridges . Returning to Boston , he frequently called to pay his respects to Mr. and Mrs. Newville , never failing to ask for Miss Newville , prolonging his calls till past the ringing of the nine o'clock bell . He was very courteous , and had many entertaining stories to tell of life in England , of his ancestral home at Halford . The old castle was gray with age ; the ivy , ever green upon its towers , hanging in graceful festoons from the battlements . Herds of deer roamed the surrounding park ; pheasants crooned and cackled beneath the stalwart oaks ; hares burrowed in the forest ; nightingales made the midnight melodious with their dulcet singing .