eleven at night
To go to Collette 's was to see life indeed ; it was wrong ; it was against the laws ; it partook , in a very dingy manner , of adventure . Were it known , it was the sort of exploit that disconsidered a young man for good with the more serious classes , but gave him a standing with the riotous . And yet Collette 's was not a hell ; it could not come , without vaulting hyperbole , under the description of a gilded saloon ; and if it was a sin to go there , the sin was merely local and municipal . Collette was simply an unlicensed publican , who gave suppers after eleven at night , the Edinburgh hour of closing . If you belonged to a club , you could get a much better supper at the same hour , and lose not a jot in public esteem . But if you lacked that qualification , and were an-hungered , or inclined towards conviviality at unlawful hours , Collette 's was your only port . You were very ill supplied .