nine o'clock
For the rest a doctor could do nothing . Fights were not uncommon at Westminster in those days , but the number of orders for beef-steaks which the nearest butcher had received on the previous evening had fairly astonished him . Indeed , had it not been for the prompt application of these to their faces , very few of the party from the fields would have been able to find their way up School unless they had been led by their comrades . At Westminster there was an hour 's school before breakfast , and when nine o'clock struck , and the boys poured out , Dr. Litter and his under-masters held council together . `` This is a disgraceful business ! '' Dr. Litter said , looking , as was his wont , at some distant object far over the heads of the others . There was a general murmur of assent .