evening, about half past
six o'clock
Owen 's viaticum was only two or three oaten cakes tied in a little handkerchief , and a few shillings in silver to pay for his bed . With this small stock of food and money , an oaken stick in his hand , and his wife 's kerchief tied about his waist , he undertook a journey of one hundred and ten miles , in quest of a landlord who , so far from being acquainted with the distresses of his tenantry , scarcely knew even their names , and not one of them in person . Our scene now changes to the metropolis . One evening , about half past six o'clock , a toil-worn man turned his steps to a splendid ! mansion in Mountjoy Square ; his appearance was drooping , fatigued , and feeble . As he went along , he examined the numbers on the respective doors , until he reached a certain one -- before which he stopped for a moment ; he then stepped out upon the street , and looked through the windows , as if willing to ascertain whether there was any chance of his object being attained . Whilst in this situation a carriage rolled rapidly up , and stopped with a sudden check that nearly threw back the horses on their haunches .