midnight
Indeed , it might almost be said that he had been in love not so much with Honnor Cunyngham as with the condition of life which she represented . He had grown restless and dissatisfied with his present state ; he had been imagining for himself another sort of existence -- but always with her as the central figure of those fancied realms ; he had been dreaming dreams -- of which she had invariably formed part . And now he had been awakened -LRB- somewhat abruptly , perhaps , but that may have been his own fault -RRB- ; and there was nothing for it but to summon his common-sense to his aid , and to assure himself that Honnor Cunyngham , at least , was not to blame . And yet sometimes , in spite of himself , as he smoked a final cigarette at midnight in those rooms in Piccadilly , a trace of bitterness would come into his reveries . `` I have been taught my place , that 's all , '' he would say to himself . `` Maurice was right -- I had forgotten my catechism . I wanted to play the gardener 's son , or Mordaunt to Lady Mabel ; and I ca n't write poetry , and I 'm not in the House of Commons .