noon on Monday
He had worked at Dowd 's Tavern for thirty-seven years , and it was his proud boast that he had never missed a day 's work , -- drunk or sober . The new guest was given the seat of honour at table . He was placed between Mrs. Pollock and Miss Flora Grady , supplanting Doctor Simpson , who had held the honour ever since Charlie Webster 's unfortunate miscalculation as to the durability of an unfamiliar brand of bourbon to which he had been introduced late one Sunday evening . It was a brand that wore extremely well , -- so well , in fact , that when he appeared for dinner at noon on Monday he was still in a lachrymose condition over the death of his mother , an event which took place when he was barely six years old . Doctor Simpson relinquished the seat cheerfully . He had held it a year and he had grown extremely tired of having to lean back as far as possible in his chair so that Mrs. Pollock and Miss Grady could converse unobstructedly in front of him , a position that called for the utmost skill and deliberation on his part , especially when it came to conveying soup and `` floating island '' to such an altitude . -LRB- He had once resorted to the expedient of bending over until his nose was almost in the plate , so that they might talk across his back , but gave it up when Miss Molly Dowd acridly inquired if he smelt anything wrong with the soup . -RRB-