About nine o'clock
Of course , I mean nothing but what 's friendly : but there it is ; I 'd rather Winnie did n't have the money . '' This man was in the habit of speaking his mind ; Hilliard understood that any insistence would only disturb the harmony of the occasion . He waved a hand , smiled good-naturedly , and said no more . About nine o'clock he left the house and walked to Aston Church . While he stood there , waiting for the tram , a voice fell upon his ear that caused him to look round . Crouched by the entrance to the churchyard was a beggar in filthy rags , his face hideously bandaged , before him on the pavement a little heap of matchboxes ; this creature kept uttering a meaningless sing-song , either idiot jabber , or calculated to excite attention and pity ; it sounded something like `` A-pah-pahky ; pah-pahky ; pah '' ; repeated a score of times , and resumed after a pause . Hilliard gazed and listened , then placed a copper in the wretch 's extended palm , and turned away muttering , `` What a cursed world ! ''