nearly nine o'clock
eh ? '' He dismounted at the White Horse Cellar , and took a hasty dinner . His great object was speed ; and so he hardly allowed himself ten minutes to finish his pint of port before he started into the street , to pursue the errand on which he had come . It was nearly nine o'clock , and he thought he would be able to reach his destination in ten minutes . But it was otherwise ordered . His evil genius took him down St. James Street . He tried to persuade himself that it was the shortest way , though he knew all the time that it was n't .