six
o'clock
Newton , you 'll bring him with you at six , '' said Mr John Forster ; and he resumed his brief before they had quitted the room . Newton was much surprised to hear that his uncle had taken a house , and he surmised whether he had not also been induced to take a wife . He felt an inclination to put the question to Mr Scratton , as he passed through the office ; but checked the wish , lest it should appear like prying into his uncle 's affairs . Being the month of February , it was dark long before six o'clock , and Newton was puzzled what to do with his father until that time . He returned to the Salopian Coffee-house , opposite to which they had been put down by the Greenwich coach ; and taking possession of a box , called for some biscuits and a pint of sherry ; and requesting his father to stay there until his return , went out to purchase a sextant , and some other nautical luxuries , which his pay enabled him to procure without trespassing upon the funds supplied by the generosity of his uncle . He then returned to his father , who had finished the wine and biscuits , and had his eyes fixed upon the ceiling of the room ; and calling a hackney coach , drove to the direction which his uncle had pointed out as his residence . Mr John Forster had already come home , and they found him in the dining-room , decanting the wine for dinner , with Amber by his side .