noon
Now , be it observed , that when a muddle-headed man is called upon at length _ to act _ -- however long beforehand he may have had notice of it -- however assured he may have been of the necessity for eventually taking one course or another , and consequently , however ample the opportunity had for consideration , he remains confused and irresolute up to the very _ last instant _ -- when he acts , after all , merely as the creature of caprice and impulse ! 'T was thus with Lord Dreddlington . He had thought of half a dozen different ways of commencing with Titmouse , and decided upon adopting each ; yet , on the arrival of the anxiously looked for moment , he had lost sight of them all , in his inward fluster and nervousness . 'T was noon , and Titmouse , smoking a cigar , was walking slowly up and down , his hands stuck into his surtout pockets , and resting on his hips , in the fir-tree walk at the end of the garden -- the spot to which he seemed , during the stay of his grand guests , to have been tacitly restricted for the enjoyment of the luxury in question . As soon as Titmouse was aware of the earl 's approach , he hastily tossed aside his cigar . The earl `` begged '' he would take another ; and tried to calm and steady himself , by a moment 's reflection upon his overwhelming superiority over Titmouse in every respect ; but it was in vain . Now -- to pause for a moment -- what anxiety and embarrassment would not his Lordship have been spared , had he been aware of one little fact ; viz. that Mr. Gammon was unconsciously , secretly , and potently , his friend , in the great matter which lay so near to his heart ?