eight o'clock
I do n't know how far one may go with landladies , but I hardly think one could ask them to repaper walls to each stray lodger 's liking . '' Miss Bathgate had not so far shown herself much inclined for conversation . She had met her lodger on the doorstep the night before , had uttered a few words of greeting , and had then confined herself to warning the man to watch the walls when he carried up the trunks , and to wondering aloud what anyone could want with so much luggage , and where in the world it was to find room . She had been asked to have dinner ready , and at eight o'clock Pamela had come down to the sitting-room to find a coarse cloth folded in two and spread on one-half of the round table . A knife , a fork , a spoon lay on the cloth , flanked on one side by an enormous cruet and on the other by four large spoons , laid crosswise , and a thick tumbler . An aspidistra in a pot completed the table decorations . The dinner consisted of stewed steak , with turnip and carrots , and a large dish of potatoes , followed by a rice pudding made without eggs and a glass dish of prunes .