midnight
It was the best explanation . The leader 's own sense of annoyance and disappointment was considerable . There was no man for whom he had felt so much personal liking as for Tressady since the fight began . Somewhere before midnight the division on the second reading was taken , amid all those accompaniments of crowd , expectation , and commotion , that are usually evoked by the critical points of a contested measure . The majority for Government was forty-four -- less by twenty-four votes than its normal figure . As the cheers and counter-cheers subsided , George found himself borne into the Lobby with the crowd pouring out of the House . As he approached the door leading to the outer lobby , a lady in front of him turned .