four o'clock
May you live in health and be happy with your husband ; he is a good , kind gentleman ! '' Bending down again to kiss Bertha 's hand , she then withdrew with her mother and aunt . `` Hearken , '' called the Duke after them , `` if your mother ever consents to give you a husband , bring him to me , and I 'll fit you out , my pretty fifer 's child ! '' By this time it was four o'clock , and the Duke rising from table was the signal for the spectators to quit the galleries , which were immediately furnished with cushions and carpets , and arranged for the reception of the ladies . The tables were removed from the body of the hall , when lances , swords , shields , helmets , and the whole apparatus for tilting were brought in , converting this spacious apartment , which had been but a moment before the scene of festive joy , into a place for the exercise of manly games . In the present day the education of the fair sex gives them a superior claim to intellectual knowledge and accomplishment over those of the times we narrate . The interest they now take in learned discussion and political argument , and the thirst for novelty which induces many to crowd the rooms of the scientific lecturer , would seem , in some instances , to intrude on the more important duty of domestic employment .