three o'clock
The next few days were devoted to sightseeing under Merton 's guidance , and a better-informed cicerone they could not well have had . The little cloud between the girls had quite passed away ; and Fan , who was not always abnormally drowsy after dark , listened to her friend 's story and entered into all her plans . Then a visit to the National Gallery was arranged for a day when Merton would only have a few hours of the afternoon to spare : he was now devoting his energies to the business of climbing . At three o'clock they were to meet at Piccadilly Circus , but the girls were early on the scene , as they wished to have an hour first in Regent Street . To unaccustomed country eyes the art treasures displayed in the shop-windows there are as much to be admired as the canvases in Trafalgar Square . They passed a large drapery establishment with swinging doors standing open , and the sight of the rich interior seemed to have a fascinating effect on Fan . She lingered behind her companion , gazing wistfully in -- a poor , empty-handed peri at the gates of Paradise .