nine
o'clock
A happy contemplative indolence , arising from a well cultivated mind , feeding rather upon its previous acquirements , than adding to its store -- an equanimity of disposition , and a habit of rigid self-command -- were the characteristics of Edward Forster ; whom I shall now awaken , that we may proceed with our narrative . `` Well , I do declare , Mr Forster , you have had a famous nap , '' cried Mrs Beazeley , in a tone of voice so loud as to put an immediate end to his slumber , as she entered his room with some hot water to assist him in that masculine operation , the diurnal painful return of which has been considered to be more than tantamount in suffering to the occasional ` pleasing punishment which women bear , ' Although this can not be proved until ladies are endowed with beards , -LRB- which Heaven forfend ! -RRB- or some modern Tiresias shall appear to decide the point , the assertion appears to be borne out , if we reason by analogy from human life ; where we find that it is not the heavy blow of sudden misfortune tripping the ladder of our ambition and laying us prostrate , which constitutes life 's intermittent `` fitful fever ; '' but the thousand petty vexations of hourly occurrence . -- We return to Mrs Beazeley , who continued -- `` Why , it 's nine o'clock , Mr Forster , and a nice fresh morning it is too , after last night 's tempest . And pray what did you hear and see , sir ? '' continued the old woman , opening the shutters , and admitting a blaze of sunshine , as if determined that at all events he should now both _ hear _ and _ see _ . `` I 'll tell you all , Mrs Beazeley , when I am dressed .