twenty-five minutes to nine
Confronted with Mr. Dubourg on the question of time , and forced to answer , she absolutely contradicted him , on the testimony of the clock on her own mantelpiece . In substance , her evidence was simply this . She had looked at her clock , when Mr. Dubourg entered the room ; thinking it rather a late hour for a visitor to call on her . The clock -LRB- regulated by the maker , only the day before -RRB- pointed to twenty-five minutes to nine . Practical experiment showed that the time required to walk the distance , at a rapid pace , from the stile to the lady 's house , was just five minutes . Here then was the statement of the farm-bailiff -LRB- himself a respectable witness -RRB- corroborated by another witness of excellent position and character . The clock , on being examined next , was found to be right .