five o'clock
It was , indeed , an awful scene of trouble , fatigue , and exertion on every side , adding one more to those million instances where the preparation for the guest has no possible relation to the degree of esteem he is held in . For so is it in the world : our best receptions are decreed to those we care least for ; our `` friend '' is condemned to the family dinner , while we lavish our fortune on mere acquaintances . In these days the fatted calf would not have been killed to commemorate the return of the prodigal , but have been melted down into mock-turtle , to feast `` my Lord '' or `` Your Grace . '' The day wore on , and as the arrangements drew nearer to completion , the anxieties were turned towards the guests themselves , who were to have arrived at five o'clock . It was now six , and yet no sign of their coming ! Fully a dozen times had Mrs. Ricketts called Martha from some household cares by the adjuration , `` Sister Anne , sister Anne , seest thou nobody coming ? '' Mercury had twice ventured out on the high-road , from which he was driven back by a posse of hooting and laughing children ; and Dalton himself paced up and down the terrace in a state of nervous impatience , not a little stimulated by hunger and certain flying visits he paid to the iced punch , to see if it was keeping cool .