About six o'clock
Five minutes afterwards Joey returned to beg a moment of me in the passage ; when I , too , got my invitation . The lad had just received , with an expression of polite surprise , though he knew he could claim it as his right , a slice of crumbling shortbread , and taken his staid departure , when Jess cleared the tea-things off the table , remarking simply that it was a mercy we had not got beyond the first cup . We then retired to dress . About six o'clock , the time announced for the ceremony , I elbowed my way through the expectant throng of men , women , and children that already besieged the smith 's door . Shrill demands of `` Toss , toss ! '' rent the air every time Jess 's head showed on the window-blind , and Andra hoped , as I pushed open the door , `` that I hadna forgotten my bawbees . '' Weddings were celebrated among the Auld Lichts by showers of ha ` pence , and the guests on their way to the bride 's house had to scatter to the hungry rabble like housewives feeding poultry .