midnight
Oh , with what zest they all went into it ; being small men escaping from a great thing to a small one . Never hopped frogs into a ditch with more alacrity . Alfred left the court and hid himself , and the scalding tears forced their way down his cheeks at this heartless proceeding : to let all the witnesses come into court at a vast expense to the parties : and raise the cup of justice to the lips of the oppressed , and then pretend he knew a trial would last more than two days , and so shirk it . `` I 'd have made that a reason for sitting till midnight '' said poor Alfred , `` not for prolonging a poor injured man 's agony four mortal months . '' He then prayed God earnestly for this great postponer 's death as the only event that could give him back an Englishman 's right of being tried by his peers , and so went down to Oxford broken-hearted . As for Sampson he was most indignant , and said a public man had no business with a private ear : and wanted to appeal to the press again : but the doughty doctor had a gentle but powerful ruler at home , as fiery houses are best ruled by a gentle hand . Mrs. Sampson requested him to write no more , but look round for an M. P. to draw these repeated defeats of justice to the notice of the House .