two o'clock
Stupidly sensitive being that he was , he thought that this icy , intellectual Mr. Minford would laugh at him . `` I confess , sir , that these wanderings seem ` singular , ' as you term them . But all the habits of old bachelors are regarded as singular , I believe . Now , it has been my daily habit , since I retired from business , to lay down my book at two o'clock , and take a little out-door exercise . Miss Pillbody 's school is not far from my house ; the street is pretty clean for New York , and the sidewalks are tolerably dry . Therefore I select that neighborhood for my daily walk -- my -- my ` constitutional , ' as they call it . If , in so doing , I should occasionally cast my eyes -- in fits of absent-mindedness , I may say -- on Miss Pillbody 's school , that is not strange , considering -- considering the interest that I take in your daughter 's education .