nine o’clock
When I ridiculed him once more on his fruitless endeavours , he answered with a sneering smile , that ` the trouts would not rise , because there was thunder in the air ; ' an intimation which , in one sense , I have found too true . I arrived at Mount Sharon ; was received by my friends there with their wonted kindness ; and after being a little rallied on my having suddenly left them on the preceding evening , I agreed to make atonement by staying all night , and dismissed the lad who attended with my fishing-rod , to carry that information to Shepherd 's Bush . It may be doubted whether he went thither , or in a different direction . Betwixt eight and nine o'clock , when it began to become dark , we walked on the terrace to enjoy the appearance of the firmament , glittering with ten million stars ; to which a slight touch of early frost gave tenfold lustre . As we gazed on this splendid scene , Miss Geddes , I think , was the first to point out to our admiration a shooting or falling star , which , she said , drew a long train after it . Looking to the part of the heavens which she pointed out , I distinctly observed two successive sky-rockets arise and burst in the sky . ` These meteors , ' said Mr. Geddes , in answer to his sister 's observation , ` are not formed in heaven , nor do they bode any good to the dwellers upon earth . '