half past ten
Old Dr. Gulp and his lady from Bloomsbury Square ; old Mr. Frowser , the attorney , from Bedford Row , a very great man , and from his business , hand-in-glove with the `` nobs at the West End '' ; old Colonel Livermore , of the Bombay Army , and Mrs. Livermore , from Upper Bedford Place ; old Sergeant Toffy and Mrs. Toffy ; and sometimes old Sir Thomas Coffin and Lady Coffin , from Bedford Square . Sir Thomas was celebrated as a hanging judge , and the particular tawny port was produced when he dined with Mr. Osborne . These people and their like gave the pompous Russell Square merchant pompous dinners back again . They had solemn rubbers of whist , when they went upstairs after drinking , and their carriages were called at half past ten . Many rich people , whom we poor devils are in the habit of envying , lead contentedly an existence like that above described . Jane Osborne scarcely ever met a man under sixty , and almost the only bachelor who appeared in their society was Mr. Smirk , the celebrated ladies ' doctor . I ca n't say that nothing had occurred to disturb the monotony of this awful existence : the fact is , there had been a secret in poor Jane 's life which had made her father more savage and morose than even nature , pride , and over-feeding had made him .