four in the morning
When she had gone to bed he collected the few articles he would require , and went upstairs to the money-chest , whence he took a tolerably bountiful sum in notes , which had been advanced to him on the property he was so soon to have in possession , to defray expenses incidental to the removal . He then went to the stable and coach-house to assure himself that the horse , gig , and harness were in a fit condition for a long drive . Nearly half an hour was spent thus , and on returning to the house Wildeve had no thought of Thomasin being anywhere but in bed . He had told the stable-lad not to stay up , leading the boy to understand that his departure would be at three or four in the morning ; for this , though an exceptional hour , was less strange than midnight , the time actually agreed on , the packet from Budmouth sailing between one and two . At last all was quiet , and he had nothing to do but to wait . By no effort could he shake off the oppression of spirits which he had experienced ever since his last meeting with Eustacia , but he hoped there was that in his situation which money could cure . He had persuaded himself that to act not ungenerously towards his gentle wife by settling on her the half of his property , and with chivalrous devotion towards another and greater woman by sharing her fate , was possible .