midnight before
An immense bin of the material occupied a corner of the cellar and furnished the means of imparting a factitious homogeneity to the contents of the cask . I shoveled in a quantity around the specimen , headed up the cask , and finished filling it through the bung-hole . When I had driven in the bung , I gave the cask a trial roll on the cellar floor and found that it moved without noticeable irregularity . `` It was past midnight before I had finished my labors and had the three casks ready for removal . After another good wash , I went to bed , and , thanks to the invigorating physical exercise , had an excellent night . `` The following day being Sunday , there was a regrettable delay , since it would have been unwise to challenge attention by trundling the casks through the streets when all the world was resting . However , I called at my Bloomsbury house and instructed the sergeant-major that some packages might be delivered on the following day .