twenty minutes past midnight
I bet you what you like Onions Winter quotes that all over the place . ' And he handed the last sheet of the review to a messenger , and ran off to the editorial room to report that instructions had been executed . Jack and Clementina relighted their pipes with select bits of _ A Question of Cubits _ , and threw the remaining débris of the volume into the waste-paper basket . The hour was twenty minutes past midnight ... . The great majority of the reviews were exceedingly favourable , and even where praise was diluted with blame , the blame was administered with respect , as a dentist might respectfully pain a prince in pulling his tooth out . The public had voted for Henry , and the press , organ of public opinion , displayed a wise discretion . The daring freshness of Henry 's plot , his inventive power , his skill in ` creating atmosphere , ' his gift for pathos , his unfailing wholesomeness , and his knack in the management of narrative , were noted and eulogized in dozens of articles .