five o'clock
In the afternoon the sun broke through at last , wintry and pale . Sep , who , by some instinct -- the instinct , it is to be supposed , of young animals -- knew that he was destined to be of a generation that should cultivate ignorance out of doors , rather than learning by the fireside , threw aside his books and cried out that he could no longer breathe in his father 's study . So Parson Marvin went off , alone , to visit a distant parishioner -- one who was dying by himself out on the marsh , in a cottage cut off from all the world in a spring tide . `` Do n't forget that it is high tide at five o'clock , and that there is no moon , and that the dykes will be full . You will never find your way across the marsh after dark , '' said Sep -- the learned in tides and those practical affairs of nature , which were as a closed book to the scholar . Parson Marvin vaguely acknowledged the warning and went away , leaving Sep to accompany Miriam on her daily errand to the simple shops in Farlingford , which would awake to life and business now that the sea-fog was gone . For the men of Farlingford , like nearly all seafarers , are timorous of bad weather on shore and sit indoors during its passage , while they treat storm and rain with a calm contempt at sea .