five o'clock
It is enough to state that it was literally festive with its succulent viands , its inspiriting wines and its dazzling cross-fire of wit and anecdote . The present was forgotten , as it should always be at well-regulated dinners ; the future was not thought of , for the diners were old men ; the past was the only thing which occupied them . They talked of their early loves , they laughed at their youthful escapades , they sang snatches of old songs , while now and again the memory of a common sorrow would circulate around the table , suddenly deadening its uproar into silence , or the remembrance of a mutual joy would flash merrily before their eyes like the glinting bubbles of their wine cups . It was five o'clock when the Barons sat down to their first course . It was nine when they reached the _ gloria _ . Just at that supreme moment , a waiter handed a paper to the Lieutenant-Governor . He opened it , and having read it , exclaimed : `` Another glass , gentlemen .