about one o’clock in the afternoon
He did not remain after recess , but resumed his wanderings , and about noon entered a grocery store , where he made a hearty lunch . Thus far good fortune attended him , but the time was coming , and that before long , when life would wear a less sunny aspect . It was the evening before Christmas . Until to-day the winter had been an open one , but about one o'clock in the afternoon the snow began to fall . The flakes came thicker and faster , and it soon became evident that an old-fashioned snowstorm had set in . By seven o'clock the snow lay a foot deep on the level , but in some places considerably deeper , for a brisk wind had piled it up in places . In a handsome house , some rods back from the village street , lived Dr. Drayton , a physician , whose skill was so well appreciated that he had already , though still in the prime of life , accumulated a handsome competence .