eleven o'clock
The March sunshine came slanting through the tall windows , and lay in bright patches upon the broad floor , or gleamed upon the ancient swords and breastplates , or glowed in the festal hangings . Quite a large number of titled and fashionable persons were collected at the upper end of the room , whispering and rustling , and dressed in what we should now consider very wonderful costumes , though they were all the mode then . A few minutes before eleven the very reverend dean , and an assistant divine , together with the bridegroom and Archibald , entered and took their places in great pomp and dignity beneath the canopy which had been constructed for the occasion , and which , was covered with fresh flowers , whose fragrance breathed over the gay assemblage like a sacred incense . At eleven o'clock there was a general hush of expectation ; and presently the door at the bottom of the hall was thrown open , and the bridal procession came in . Very pretty they looked as they paced , up the long stretch of carpeting which had been laid down for them to walk upon , and which had been scattered over with a profusion of flowers . The bride , with her veil and her orange-blossoms , was supported on the arm of Sir Henry Rollinson -LRB- the good Doctor had been knighted the year before by an appreciative sovereign -RRB- , who was to give her away . She looked calm , pale , and exceedingly handsome .