six o’clock
B. D. September 5th . MY BELOVED BARBARA , -- Today I have undergone a variety of experiences . In the first place , my head has been aching , and towards evening I went out to get a breath of fresh air along the Fontanka Canal . The weather was dull and damp , and even by six o'clock , darkness had begun to set in . True , rain was not actually falling , but only a mist like rain , while the sky was streaked with masses of trailing cloud . Crowds of people were hurrying along Naberezhnaia Street , with faces that looked strange and dejected . There were drunken peasants ; snub-nosed old harridans in slippers ; bareheaded artisans ; cab drivers ; every species of beggar ; boys ; a locksmith 's apprentice in a striped smock , with lean , emaciated features which seemed to have been washed in rancid oil ; an ex-soldier who was offering penknives and copper rings for sale ; and so on , and so on .