four
o'clock in the morning
Then he sallied forth with his new fellow-labourer and old acquaintance , and selecting a spot where the furze grew thickest he struck the first blow in his adopted calling . His sight , like the wings in `` Rasselas , '' though useless to him for his grand purpose , sufficed for this strait , and he found that when a little practice should have hardened his palms against blistering he would be able to work with ease . Day after day he rose with the sun , buckled on his leggings , and went off to the rendezvous with Humphrey . His custom was to work from four o'clock in the morning till noon ; then , when the heat of the day was at its highest , to go home and sleep for an hour or two ; afterwards coming out again and working till dusk at nine . This man from Paris was now so disguised by his leather accoutrements , and by the goggles he was obliged to wear over his eyes , that his closest friend might have passed by without recognizing him . He was a brown spot in the midst of an expanse of olive-green gorse , and nothing more . Though frequently depressed in spirit when not actually at work , owing to thoughts of Eustacia 's position and his mother 's estrangement , when in the full swing of labour he was cheerfully disposed and calm .