noon
`` No , thank you , '' said I , `` I have business to do . '' `` Well , well , business is the chief thing . It 's well not to drink in the morning , too . For my own part , except a drop before breakfast to give me an appetite , and maybe a glass , or even twa , afterwards to promote digestion , I never touch spirits before noon . What d'ye think o ' the general , Mr. West ? '' `` Why , I have hardly had an opportunity of judging , '' I answered . Mr. McNeil tapped his forehead with his forefinger .