eight o'clock
-LSB- 1 -RSB- How proud the old people were of him ! How they would sit listening to him , flashing , and telling how Deuceace and he floored a Charley , or Blueun and he pitched a snob out of the boxes into the pit . This was in the old Tom-and-Jerry days , when fisticuffs were the fashion . One evening , after he had indulged us with a more than usual dose , and was leaving the room to dress for an eight o'clock dinner at Long 's , ` Buzzer ! ' exclaimed the old man , clutching our arm , as the tears started to his eyes , ` Buzzer ! that 's an am _ aa _ zin ' instance of a pop ` lar man ! ' And certainly , if a large acquaintance is a criterion of popularity , young Puffington , as he was then called , had his fair share .