nine o'clock in the morning
Yet Chaffey 's remained English , flagrantly English , in its viands and its waiters . The new proprietor aimed at combining foreign glitter with the prices and the entertainment acceptable to a public of small means . Moreover , he prospered . The doors were now open from nine o'clock in the morning to twelve at night . There was a bar for the supply of alcoholic drinks -- the traditional porter had always been fetched from a neighbouring house -- and frivolities such as tea and coffee were in constant demand . This change told grievously upon Mr. Sparkes . At the first mention of it he determined to resign but the weakness in his character shrank from such a decided step , and he allowed himself to be drawn into a painfully false position .