four in the afternoon
A little before six you heard the clashing of many front doors and the echoing footsteps of the men going to their work . At half-past seven you heard the whoop of the milkman and the rattling of his cans . At half-past eight you heard the little feet of the children , like the pattering of rain , going off to the Board School round the corner . And a little after four in the afternoon you heard the wild cries of the juvenile community let loose from lessons , the boys trundling iron hoops and the girls skipping to a measured tune over a rope stretched from parapet to parapet . After that , our street hummed like a bee-hive , with the women , washed and combed , standing knitting at their open doors or exchanging confidences across the areas until darkness fell and each of the mothers called her children into bed , as an old hen in the farmyard clucks up her chickens . These good creatures were very kind to me . Having satisfied themselves from observation of my habits that I was `` respectable , '' they called me `` our lady '' ; and I could not help hearing that I was `` a nice young thing , '' though it was a little against me that I did not go to church or chapel , and had confessed to being a Catholic -- for several of our families -LRB- including that of my landlady -RRB- were members of the Welsh Zion Chapel not far away .