eleven o'clock
The best commercial bills going ca n't be done under nine , and any other kind of paper ca n't so much as get itself looked at . '' Thus spoke Mr. Musselboro . He was seated in Dobbs Broughton 's arm-chair in Dobbs Broughton 's room in Hook Court , on the hind legs of which he was balancing himself comfortably ; and he was communicating his experience in City matters to our old friend , Adolphus Crosbie , -- of whom we may surmise that he would not have been there , at that moment , in Hook Court , if things had been going well with him . It was now past eleven o'clock , and he should have been at his office at the West End . His position in his office was no doubt high enough to place him beyond the reach of any special inquiry as to such absences ; but it is generally felt that when the Crosbies of the West End have calls into the City about noon , things in the world are not going well with them . The man who goes into the City to look for money is generally one who does not know where to get money when he wants it . Mr. Musselboro on this occasion kept his hat on his head , and there was something in the way in which he balanced his chair which was in itself an offence to Mr. Crosbie 's personal dignity .