twelve o'clock
Mrs. Norton must have been quite pretty once , and perhaps at that period she caused Mr. Norton anxieties . But if she had ever needed forgiveness for some indiscretion or other , she had obviously obtained it ; and again the thought came strong and clear that people who hold conspicuous positions -- such as vicars , tax-collectors , postmasters , and so on -- owe a duty to the world as well as to themselves . They must hush things up , and preserve appearances : they can not wash their dirty linen in public . After twelve o'clock there was much more to look at . The children came shouting out of school , laborers passed to and fro on their way to dinner , and with horns loudly blowing , three heavily-laden chars-a-bancs arrived one after another from Rodhaven . The tourists filled the street , and for about two hours the aspect of things was lively and bustling . Then the horns sounded again , the huge vehicles lumbered away , and the whole village relapsed into drowsiness and inertia .