seven o'clock
That greeting was like a Masonic initiation , and henceforward he was the peer of no matter whom . At first he had thought that four hundred eyes would be fastened on him , their glance saying , `` This youth is wearing a dress-suit for the first time , and it is not paid for , either ! '' But it was not so . And the reason was that the entire population of the Town Hall was heartily engaged in pretending that never in its life had it been seen after seven o'clock of a night apart from a dress-suit . Denry observed with joy that , while numerous middle-aged and awkward men wore red or white silk handkerchiefs in their waistcoats , such people as Charles Fearns , the Swetnams , and Harold Etches did not . He was , then , in the shyness of his handkerchief , on the side of the angels . He passed up the double staircase -LRB- decorated with white or pale frocks of unparalleled richness -RRB- , and so into the grand hall .