midday
And then I began to read that strange man 's diary , the first page of which only bore the words : _ The Papers of the Forest Schoolmaster _ So I am at last settled in this wilderness . And I will write it all down , although I know not for whom . My father died when I was seven , and I was taken charge of by an itinerant umbrella-maker who taught me his trade , and on his death left me his stock of some two dozen umbrellas , which I took to the market . A heavy shower just at midday helped me to sell them rapidly , and I only retained one for my own protection and for that of an elegant gentleman who , unable to secure a carriage , made me accompany him to town to save him from getting drenched . He made me tell him all about myself , and offered to take me as apprentice in his bookshop . He was a kind master . When he discovered ' that I was more interested in the contents of his books than in my work he secured me admission in a college .