nine o'clock
At those times , as the howlings and wailings and shrieking of the singers , and the ragings and roarings and explosions of the vast orchestra rose higher and higher , and wilder and wilder , and fiercer and fiercer , I could have cried if I had been alone . Those strangers would not have been surprised to see a man do such a thing who was being gradually skinned , but they would have marveled at it here , and made remarks about it no doubt , whereas there was nothing in the present case which was an advantage over being skinned . There was a wait of half an hour at the end of the first act , and I could have gone out and rested during that time , but I could not trust myself to do it , for I felt that I should desert to stay out . There was another wait of half an hour toward nine o'clock , but I had gone through so much by that time that I had no spirit left , and so had no desire but to be let alone . I do not wish to suggest that the rest of the people there were like me , for , indeed , they were not . Whether it was that they naturally liked that noise , or whether it was that they had learned to like it by getting used to it , I did not at the time know ; but they did like it -- this was plain enough . While it was going on they sat and looked as rapt and grateful as cats do when one strokes their backs ; and whenever the curtain fell they rose to their feet , in one solid mighty multitude , and the air was snowed thick with waving handkerchiefs , and hurricanes of applause swept the place .