six in the
morning
The table was an arena surrounded by flushed persons with codfishy eyes , and all the diners congratulated themselves on being the most jovial fellows under the moon . But what about next morning ? At that time your thoroughly jovial fellow who despises saintly milksops is usually a dull , morose , objectionable person who should be put in a field by himself . Give me the man who is in a calmly genial mood at six in the morning . That was the case with all our saintly milksops on board the yacht . At six Blair and Tom were astir ; soon afterwards came the ladies and the other men , and the company chatted harmlessly until the merry breakfast hour was over ; their palates were pure ; their thoughts were gentle , and , although a Cape buffalo may be counted as rather an unobtrusive vocalist in comparison with Mr. Lennard , yet , on the whole , the conversation was profitable , and generally refined . Tom 's roars perhaps gave soft emphasis to the quieter talkers .