ten minutes to eight precisely
`` It shall be done , sir . '' The head waiter left the room , and the manager stretched himself in his chair , yawned by way of showing his importance , and then said solemnly , -- `` I do n't believe they 'll any of them turn up ; but if they do , this Dr. Nikola , whoever he may be , wo n't be able to find fault with my arrangements . '' Then , leaving the dusty high road of Business , he and his companion wandered in the shady bridle-paths of Love -- to the end that when the chief bookkeeper returned to her own department she had forgotten the strange dinner party about to take place upstairs , and was busily engaged upon a calculation as to how she would look in white satin and orange blossoms , and , that settled , fell to wondering whether it was true , as Miss Joyce , a subordinate , had been heard to declare , that the manager had once shown himself partial to a certain widow with reputed savings and a share in an extensive egg and dairy business . At ten minutes to eight precisely a hansom drew up at the steps of the hotel . As soon as it stopped , an undersized gentleman , with a clean shaven countenance , a canonical corporation , and bow legs , dressed in a decidedly clerical garb , alighted . He paid and discharged his cabman , and then took from his ticket pocket an ordinary white visiting card , which he presented to the gold-laced individual who had opened the apron . The latter , having noted the red spot , called a waiter , and the reverend gentleman was immediately escorted upstairs .