about five o'clock in the afternoon of
the first of May
`` How long is he going to stand with his back against that door ? '' I asked myself ; `` I want to commence my packing . '' The dinner-bell rang , and suddenly away he bolted , without another syllable : I saw him no more during the day , and was off before he had risen in the morning . I reached the lodge at Gateshead about five o'clock in the afternoon of the first of May : I stepped in there before going up to the hall . It was very clean and neat : the ornamental windows were hung with little white curtains ; the floor was spotless ; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright , and the fire burnt clear . Bessie sat on the hearth , nursing her last-born , and Robert and his sister played quietly in a corner . `` Bless you !