one o'clock
Esther liked to pick out plums of poetry , without having to search for them on her own account , and as Hazard liked to talk even better than she to listen , they babbled on pleasantly together while Catherine read novels which Hazard chose for her , and which he selected with the idea of carrying her into the life of the past . There was an atmosphere of romance about her novels , and not about the novels alone . While this ecclesiastical idyl was painting and singing itself in its own way , blind and deaf to the realities of life , this life moved on in its accustomed course undisturbed by idyls . The morning 's task was always finished at one o'clock . At that hour , if the weather was fine , Mr. Dudley commonly stopped at the church door to take them away , and the rest of the day was given up to society . Esther and Catherine drove , made calls , dined out , went to balls , to the theater and opera , without interrupting their professional work . Under Mrs. Murray 's potent influence , Catherine glided easily into the current of society and became popular without an effort .