Midday
How many thousand times had Mr. Sparkes shouted the order `` One ally-mode ! '' The chief , almost the only , variant was `` One ` ot ! '' which signified a cut from the boiled round , served of course with carrots and potatoes , remarkable for their excellence . Midday dinner was the only meal recognized at Chaffey 's ; from twelve to half-past two the press of business kept everyone breathless and perspiring . Before and after these hours little if anything was looked for , and at four o'clock the establishment closed its doors . But it came to pass that the proprietor of Chaffey 's died , and the business fell into the hands of a young man with new ideas . Within a few months Chaffey 's underwent a transformation ; it was pulled down , rebuilt , enlarged , beautified ; nothing left of its old self but the name .