five o'clock in the morning
The ` Cl 's ' are always gentle and lovely girls you would die for ! Do n't you think so ? '' Richard had never been acquainted with any of them to inspire that emotion . Indeed these urgent appeals to his fancy in feminine names at five o'clock in the morning slightly surprised him , though he was but half awake to the outer world . By degrees he perceived that Ralph was changed . Instead of the lusty boisterous boy , his rival in manly sciences , who spoke straightforwardly and acted up to his speech , here was an abashed and blush-persecuted youth , who sued piteously for a friendly ear wherein to pour the one idea possessing him . Gradually , too , Richard apprehended that Ralph likewise was on the frontiers of the Realm of Mystery , perhaps further toward it than he himself was ; and then , as by a sympathetic stroke , was revealed to him the wonderful beauty and depth of meaning in feminine names .