midday
This small and dark apartment was the only portion of the house to which , since one firmly repelled invasion , Mrs. Melmoth 's omnipotence did not extend . Here -LRB- to reverse the words of Queen Elizabeth -RRB- there was `` but one master and no mistress '' ; and that man has little right to complain who possesses so much as one corner in the world where he may be happy or miserable , as best suits him . In his study , then , the doctor was accustomed to spend most of the hours that were unoccupied by the duties of his station . The flight of time was here as swift as the wind , and noiseless as the snow-flake ; and it was a sure proof of real happiness that night often came upon the student before he knew it was midday . Dr. Melmoth was wearing towards age -LRB- having lived nearly sixty years -RRB- , when he was called upon to assume a character to which he had as yet been a stranger . He had possessed in his youth a very dear friend , with whom his education had associated him , and who in his early manhood had been his chief intimate . Circumstances , however , had separated them for nearly thirty years , half of which had been spent by his friend , who was engaged in mercantile pursuits , in a foreign country .