midnight
I shall get them ; but I must clear out . '' He had won four hundred pounds within the last week , and this and his share in a play which was doing fairly well in the provinces , had run up his balance at the bank higher than it had ever stood -- to nearly a thousand pounds . As he considered his good fortune , a sudden desire of change of scene suddenly sprang upon him , and in full revulsion of feeling his mind turned from the long hours in the yellow glare of lamp-light , the staring faces , the heaps of gold and notes , and the cards flying silently around the empty space of green baize ; from the long hours spent correcting and manipulating sentences ; from the heat and turmoil and dirt of London ; from Frank Escott and his family ; from stinking , steamy restaurants ; from the high flights of stairs , and the prostitution of the Temple . And like butterflies above two flowers , his thoughts hovered in uncertain desire between the sanctity of a honeymoon with Lily Young in a fair enchanted pavilion on a terrace by the sea , near , but not too near , white villas , in a place as fairylike as a town etched by Whistler , and some months of pensive and abstracted life , full to overflowing with the joy and eagerness of incessant cerebration ; a summer spent in a quiet country-side , full of field-paths , and hedge-rows , and shadowy woodland lanes -- rich with red gables , surprises of woodbine and great sunflowers -- where he would walk meditatively in the sunsetting , seeing the village lads and lassies pass , interested in their homely life , so resting his brain after the day 's labour ; then in his study he would find the candles already lighted , the kettle singing , his books and his manuscripts ready for three excellent hours ; upon his face the night would breathe the rustling of leaves and the rich odour of the stocks and tall lilies , until he closed the window at midnight , casting one long sad and regretful look upon the gold mysteries of the heavens . So his reverie ran , interrupted by the conversation in the next room . He heard his name mentioned frequently . The situation was embarrassing , for he could not open a door without being heard .