about eight in the evening
While terror and dismay , therefore , spread amidst that wide and respectable body who formed O'Malley 's creditors , the preparations for his funeral were going on with every rapidity . Relays of horses were ordered at every stage of the journey , and it was announced that , in testimony of his worth , a large party of his friends were to accompany his remains to Portumna Abbey , -- a test much more indicative of resistance in the event of any attempt to arrest the body , than of anything like reverence for their departed friend . Such was the state of matters in Dublin when a letter reached me one morning at O'Malley Castle , whose contents will at once explain the writer 's intention , and also serve to introduce my unworthy self to my reader . It ran thus : -- DALY 'S , about eight in the evening . Dear Charley , -- Your uncle Godfrey , whose debts -LRB- God pardon him ! -RRB- are more numerous than the hairs of his wig , was obliged to die here last night . We did the thing for him completely ; and all doubts as to the reality of the event are silenced by the circumstantial detail of the newspaper , `` that he was confined six weeks to his bed from a cold he caught , ten days ago , while on guard . ''