four o’clock in the afternoon
I will give you a note to Mrs. Van Kirk . Perhaps she will engage you as a music teacher for the children . Good morning . '' At half-past four o'clock in the afternoon , Halfdan found himself standing in a large , dimly lighted drawing-room , whose brilliant upholstery , luxurious carpets , and fantastically twisted furniture dazzled and bewildered his senses . All was so strange , so strange ; nowhere a familiar object to give rest to the wearied eye . Wherever he looked he saw his shabbily attired figure repeated in the long crystal mirrors , and he became uncomfortably conscious of his threadbare coat , his uncouth boots , and the general incongruity of his appearance . With every moment his uneasiness grew ; and he was vaguely considering the propriety of a precipitate flight , when the rustle of a dress at the farther end of the room startled him , and a small , plump lady , of a daintily exquisite form , swept up toward him , gave a slight inclination of her head , and sank down into an easy-chair : `` You are Mr. -- , the Norwegian , who wishes to give music lessons ? ''