twenty-five minutes to
three
Thus , amid his concentration did Manston receive perceptions of the individuals about him in the lively thoroughfare of the Strand ; tall men looking insignificant ; little men looking great and profound ; lost women of miserable repute looking as happy as the days are long ; wives , happy by assumption , looking careworn and miserable . Each and all were alike in this one respect , that they followed a solitary trail like the inwoven threads which form a banner , and all were equally unconscious of the significant whole they collectively showed forth . At ten o'clock he turned into Lancaster Place , crossed the river , and entered the railway-station , where he took his seat in the down mail-train , which bore him , and Edward Springrove 's letter to Graye , far away from London . They entered Anglebury Station in the dead , still time of early morning , the clock over the booking-office pointing to twenty-five minutes to three . Manston lingered on the platform and saw the mail-bags brought out , noticing , as a pertinent pastime , the many shabby blotches of wax from innumerable seals that had been set upon their mouths . The guard took them into a fly , and was driven down the road to the post-office . It was a raw , damp , uncomfortable morning , though , as yet , little rain was falling .