seven o'clock in the evening
The population and number of tenements , and of miles of streets , were mere rows of figures on a page , and no help to the mind . Only by seeing it all would she be able to form any conception of it : she saw a great deal of it in the course of the day from the tops of omnibuses , and travelled for hours in those long thoroughfares that seemed to stretch away into infinitude , so that one finds it hard to believe that nature lies beyond , and fields where flowers bloom , and last night 's dew lies on the untrodden grass . Nor was she satisfied with only seeing it , or a part of it , in this hasty superficial way ; at various points they left the thoroughfare to stroll about the streets , and in some of the streets they visited , which were better than those inhabited by the very poor , Constance entered several of the houses on the old pretext of seeking lodgings , and made many minute inquiries about the cost of living from the women she talked with . It was seven o'clock in the evening when they got home ; and after dining Merton lit a cigar and stretched himself out on the sofa of their sitting-room to recover from his fatigue . His wife was also too tired to do anything , and settled herself near him in the easy-chair . `` Well , Connie , '' he said with a smile , `` what is to be the outcome of the day 's adventures ? Of course you had an object in dragging one through that desert desolate . ''