seven o'clock
Once however I witnessed a scene of singular interest at one of the theatres , where nature overpowered art , as an overflowing cataract will tear away the puny manufacture of a mock cascade , which had before been fed by a small portion of its waters . I had come to London to see Adrian . He was not at the palace ; and , though the attendants did not know whither he had gone , they did not expect him till late at night . It was between six and seven o'clock , a fine summer afternoon , and I spent my leisure hours in a ramble through the empty streets of London ; now turning to avoid an approaching funeral , now urged by curiosity to observe the state of a particular spot ; my wanderings were instinct with pain , for silence and desertion characterized every place I visited , and the few beings I met were so pale and woe-begone , so marked with care and depressed by fear , that weary of encountering only signs of misery , I began to retread my steps towards home . I was now in Holborn , and passed by a public house filled with uproarious companions , whose songs , laughter , and shouts were more sorrowful than the pale looks and silence of the mourner . Such an one was near , hovering round this house . The sorry plight of her dress displayed her poverty , she was ghastly pale , and continued approaching , first the window and then the door of the house , as if fearful , yet longing to enter .