nine in the evening
He complains that `` he ca n't peck , '' yet continues the cause of his infirmity , living almost entirely upon cock-a-doodle broth -- eggs beat up in brandy and a little water . Like Scipio , he is never less alone than when alone ; with this difference , that the companions of P. C. 's solitude do not add to the pleasure of his existence . Unless somebody can make him see that it is never too late to mend , this little rogue , fool and sot will `` shut up like a knife some day '' -LRB- so says a medical friend -RRB- , and then it will be too late . It is nine in the evening . A little party is collected of farmers and their wives and daughters . Mrs. George Fielding rises and says , `` Now I must go home . '' Remonstrance of hostess .