half past nine in the evening
Mrs. Micawber 's spirits becoming elevated , too , we sang ` Auld Lang Syne ' . When we came to ` Here 's a hand , my trusty frere ' , we all joined hands round the table ; and when we declared we would ` take a right gude Willie Waught ' , and had n't the least idea what it meant , we were really affected . In a word , I never saw anybody so thoroughly jovial as Mr. Micawber was , down to the very last moment of the evening , when I took a hearty farewell of himself and his amiable wife . Consequently , I was not prepared , at seven o'clock next morning , to receive the following communication , dated half past nine in the evening ; a quarter of an hour after I had left him : -- ` My DEAR YOUNG FRIEND , ` The die is cast -- all is over . Hiding the ravages of care with a sickly mask of mirth , I have not informed you , this evening , that there is no hope of the remittance ! Under these circumstances , alike humiliating to endure , humiliating to contemplate , and humiliating to relate , I have discharged the pecuniary liability contracted at this establishment , by giving a note of hand , made payable fourteen days after date , at my residence , Pentonville , London . When it becomes due , it will not be taken up .