six o'clock
` Has her ladyship declared war ? ' Sir Weeton Slater inquired . ` No , that 's not her preliminary to wageing it , ' Wedderburn replied . These high-pressure smart talkers had a moment of dulness , and he bethought him that he must run into the Club for letters , and was busy at Westminster , where , if anything fresh occurred between meridian and six o'clock , he should be glad , he said , to have word of it by messenger , that he might not be behind his Age . The form of humour to express the speed of the world was common , but it struck me as a terrible illustration of my father 's . I had still a sense of pleasure in the thought that these intimates of his were gentlemen who relished and , perhaps , really liked him . They were not parasites ; not the kind of men found hanging about vulgar profligates .