two
o'clock in the morning
Who her husband had been ? whether she had money ? what was her situation in life ? were what Andrew tried long and earnestly to discover , but in vain -- the Widow Brown seemed wrapped in mystery ; and , from that hour , when he imprinted a kiss upon her lips , under a lamp-post , at two o'clock in the morning , in Bruntisfield Place , he had neither seen nor heard of her . Years -- six in number -- had elapsed since then , and Andrew had not ventured to accept another invitation to an evening party ; but , as soon as his business for the day was over , he returned to his solitary lodging in Richmond Street ; and , for the remainder of the evening , followed the example of the gentlemen of England , and `` lived at home at ease , '' never stirring out , except to pay an occasional visit to the theatre . The localities of Alloa were quite unknown to Andrew , for the best reason in the world -- he had never been in it before ; but , by dint of attending to the usual expedient resorted to on like occasions -- that of following his nose -- in the space of a few minutes he discovered that his feet , or fate , had led him into a dockyard , where a vessel was just upon the point of being wedded to the ocean . Some women and men -- the former , as usual , predominant -- were seated on logs beneath a shed ; others , the more impatient seemingly , were walking about with umbrellas and parasols above their heads -- young men with young misses -- old men and babes .