seven o'clock in the evening
To understand this it must be remembered , that as yet he had deduced for himself no principles of action or feeling : he was only a boy well-made , with little goodness that he had in any way verified for himself . On the second day after the commencement of lectures , it was made known to the first class that the Magistrand -LRB- fourth-class -RRB- Debating Society would meet that evening . The meetings of this society , although under the control of the magistrands , were open , upon equal terms in most other respects , to the members of the inferior classes . They were held in the Natural Philosophy class-room , at seven o'clock in the evening ; and to the first meeting of the session Alec went with no little curiosity and expectation . It was already dark when he set out from his lodgings in the new town , for the gateway beneath the tower with that crown of stone which is the glory of the ancient borough gathered beneath it . Through narrow crooked streets , with many dark courts on each side , he came to the open road which connected the two towns . It was a starry night , dusky rather than dark , and full of the long sound of the distant sea-waves falling on the shore beyond the _ links _ .