Eight o’clock
`` The work is furnished , '' he exclaimed , loudly and joyfully ; `` it shall now go out into the world ! '' He hastily folded up his manuscript , wrapped a sheet of paper around it , sealed it and directed it . Then he looked at his watch . `` Eight o'clock , '' he said , in a low voice ; `` if I make haste , the postmaster will forward my manuscript to-day . '' He divested himself of his gown , and dressed . Then he took his hat and the manuscript and hastened down into the street toward the post-office . Absorbed as he was in his reflections , he saw neither the extraordinary commotion reigning in the small university town , nor the sad faces of the passers-by ; he only thought of his work , and not of reality .