nine o'clock
The present evening had not been at all a remarkable one so far as the talk was concerned . The drenching rain , the tendency of the fire to smoke , the general wetness and condensed depravity of the atmosphere had affected the spirits of the little party . They were not gay , and they broke up early . It was not nine o'clock when all had gone , and Mrs. Goddard and little Eleanor were left alone by the side of their drawing-room fire . The child sat upon a footstool and leaned her head against her mother 's knee . Mrs. Goddard herself was thoughtful and sad , without precisely knowing why . She generally looked forward with pleasure to meeting the Ambroses , but this evening she had been rather disappointed .