eleven o'clock
The marquis merrily insisted that it was a case of exorcism ; that the devil was in the castle , and out he must go ; that if Satan assisted in the detection of the guilty and the purging of the innocent , then was he divided against himself , and what could be better for the church or the world ? But for his own part he had no hand in it , and if sir Toby had anything to say against it , he must go to his son . This he did at once ; but lord Herbert speedily satisfied him , pledging himself that there should be nothing done by aid from beneath , and making solemn assertion that if ever he had employed any of the evil powers to work out his designs , it had been as their master and not their accomplice . It was the custom in Raglan to close the gates at eleven o'clock every morning , and then begin to lay the tables for dinner ; nor were they opened again until the meal was over , and all had dispersed to their various duties . Upon this occasion directions were given that the gates should remain closed until the issue of further orders . There was little talk in the hall during dinner that day , and not much in the marquis 's dining-room . In the midst of the meal at the housekeeper 's table , mistress Amanda was taken suddenly ill , and nearly fell from her chair .