about eight o'clock
As some children were sure to be occupied with class work during the whole time , fewer seats were needed than would have been necessary otherwise . The schoolmaster 's old mother , Margot , kept her own chair by the fire , where she kept an eye on the pot of soup and occupied herself with knitting . The one small table served as master 's desk and as writing-table for those pupils who had advanced sufficiently in the art to be allowed to use a copy-book instead of a slate -- but they were few . The scholars arrived about eight o'clock . It was required of each , as part of the school fees , to bring a block of dried peat to serve as fuel for the fire . It was always the ambition of a boy of lively temperament , such as Willy represented himself to be , to choose as hard a `` peat '' as he could possibly find , to serve as a weapon in the mimic battles fought on the road to school . As the fire was composed wholly of peat , and the chimney was wide , the place would be often a difficult one to study in when the wind was in the wrong quarter .