the
hour of nine
With proud , flashing eyes and queenly air , she coolly surveyed the mass of heads before her , caught an admiring glance from George Clayton , and then , with a steady hand unrolled her manuscript and read . Her subject was `` The Outward and the Inward Life , '' and no gray-haired sage ever handled it more skilfully than she . When she finished one universal burst of applause shook the building to its centre , while her name was on every lip as she triumphantly left the room . Just then a distant bell struck the hour of nine , and George Clayton arose to go . He was sure of Arabella 's success , and in the hall below , whither she had gone to bid him adieu , he shook her hand warmly , telling her how happy it made him to see her thus victorious , and winning from her a promise to write to him when he should be over the sea . Half an hour later and the night express was bearing him far away . Half an hour later , and with flushed brow Arabella stood up and received the prize , which consisted of two elegantly bound volumes of Wordsworth and Coleridge .