about twelve o'clock
It was ironing-day , and our dinners were apt to be late upon ironing-days . I concluded that , if the soup were punctual , and not too hot , I could leave myself ten or perhaps fifteen unoccupied minutes before one o'clock . It strikes me as curious now , the gravity with which this thought underran the fever and pain and dread of the morning . I fell to reading my hymn-book about twelve o'clock , and when Alison called me to dinner I did not remember to consult my watch . The soup was good , though hot . A grim Epicurean stolidity crept over me as I sat down before it . A man had better make the most of his last chance at mock-turtle .