fifteen minutes to seven o'clock
Alfonso put the telegram in his pocket , completed packing his steamer trunk , wrote a letter to his landlord , enclosing a check for the last quarter 's rent , and ran downstairs and over to the storage company , to leave an order to call for two big trunks of artist 's belongings , not needed in Europe . A hansom-cab took him to the Windsor Hotel , where he almost forgot to pay his barber for a shave , such was his excitement . A little dry toast , two soft boiled eggs , and a cup of coffee were quite sufficient , since his appetite , usually very good , somehow had failed him . It was now fifteen minutes to seven o'clock . In less than half an hour Alfonso was to meet his father , mother , and sisters , and after a few days in the metropolis , join them in an extended journey over the British Isles , and possibly through portions of Europe . Alfonso was the only son of Reuben Harris , a rich manufacturer of iron and steel . His father , a man naturally of very firm will , had earnestly longed that his only son might succeed him in business , and so increase and perpetuate a fortune already colossal .