six in the morning
Lesser houses , cottages , and sheds at a distance were thatched , but in an enclosure tiles were necessary , lest , in case of an attack , fire should be thrown . Half an hour later , at six o'clock , the watchman blew his horn as loudly as possible for some two or three minutes , the hollow sound echoing through the place . He took the time by the sundial on the wall , it being a summer morning ; in winter he was guided by the position of the stars , and often , when sun or stars were obscured , went by guess . The house horn was blown thrice a day ; at six in the morning , as a signal that the day had begun , at noon as a signal for dinner , at six in the afternoon as a signal that the day -LRB- except in harvest-time -RRB- was over . The watchmen went their round about the enclosure all night long , relieved every three hours , armed with spears , and attended by mastiffs . By day one sufficed , and his station was then usually -LRB- though not always -RRB- on the highest part of the roof . The horn re-awoke Felix ; it was the note by which he had been accustomed to rise for years .