four o'clock
And the old cook , the young lady , the Professor and I were the sole inhabitants . I loved mineralogy , I loved geology . To me there was nothing like pebbles -- and if my uncle had been in a little less of a fury , we should have been the happiest of families . To prove the excellent Hardwigg 's impatience , I solemnly declare that when the flowers in the drawing-room pots began to grow , he rose every morning at four o'clock to make them grow quicker by pulling the leaves ! Having described my uncle , I will now give an account of our interview . He received me in his study ; a perfect museum , containing every natural curiosity that can well be imagined -- minerals , however , predominating . Every one was familiar to me , having been catalogued by my own hand .