eleven o’clock
After tea , we discussed a variety of topics before the fire ; and Mrs. Micawber was good enough to sing us -LRB- in a small , thin , flat voice , which I remembered to have considered , when I first knew her , the very table-beer of acoustics -RRB- the favourite ballads of ` The Dashing White Sergeant ' , and ` Little Tafflin ' . For both of these songs Mrs. Micawber had been famous when she lived at home with her papa and mama . Mr. Micawber told us , that when he heard her sing the first one , on the first occasion of his seeing her beneath the parental roof , she had attracted his attention in an extraordinary degree ; but that when it came to Little Tafflin , he had resolved to win that woman or perish in the attempt . It was between ten and eleven o'clock when Mrs. Micawber rose to replace her cap in the whitey-brown paper parcel , and to put on her bonnet . Mr. Micawber took the opportunity of Traddles putting on his great-coat , to slip a letter into my hand , with a whispered request that I would read it at my leisure . I also took the opportunity of my holding a candle over the banisters to light them down , when Mr. Micawber was going first , leading Mrs. Micawber , and Traddles was following with the cap , to detain Traddles for a moment on the top of the stairs . ` Traddles , ' said I , ` Mr. Micawber do n't mean any harm , poor fellow : but , if I were you , I would n't lend him anything . '