four o'clock
The former pretends to be a scholar and perplexes me with doctrinal points ; the latter takes me on the score of feeling ; and both , like several other preachers , spend their strength to very little purpose . I , their sole auditor , can not always understand them . Suppose that a few hours have passed , and behold me still behind my curtain just before the close of the afternoon service . The hour-hand on the dial has passed beyond four o'clock . The declining sun is hidden behind the steeple and throws its shadow straight across the street ; so that my chamber is darkened as with a cloud . Around the church door all is solitude , and an impenetrable obscurity beyond the threshold . A commotion is heard .