about two
o'clock
The moon , in her third quarter , had risen since the snowstorm ; but the dense accumulation of snow-cloud weakened her power to a faint twilight , which was rather pervasive of the landscape than traceable to the sky . The breeze had gone down , and the rustle of their feet and tones of their speech echoed with an alert rebound from every post , boundary-stone , and ancient wall they passed , even where the distance of the echo 's origin was less than a few yards . Beyond their own slight noises nothing was to be heard , save the occasional bark of foxes in the direction of Yalbury Wood , or the brush of a rabbit among the grass now and then , as it scampered out of their way . Most of the outlying homesteads and hamlets had been visited by about two o'clock ; they then passed across the outskirts of a wooded park toward the main village , nobody being at home at the Manor . Pursuing no recognized track , great care was necessary in walking lest their faces should come in contact with the low-hanging boughs of the old lime-trees , which in many spots formed dense over-growths of interlaced branches . `` Times have changed from the times they used to be , '' said Mail , regarding nobody can tell what interesting old panoramas with an inward eye , and letting his outward glance rest on the ground , because it was as convenient a position as any . `` People do n't care much about us now !