midnight
replied Meg ; ` and if we did n't , there 's the police . What 's the police good for , if they could n't tell a person like me the road to Temple Gardens ? We 'll have such a nice day ! ' The children trotted along briskly till they reached the broad thoroughfares and handsome shops of the main streets which traverse London , where a constant rush of foot passengers upon the pavement , and of conveyances in the roadway , hurry to and fro from morning to midnight . Poor little Meg stood for a few minutes aghast and stunned , almost fearful of committing herself and her children to the mighty stream ; but Robin pulled her on impatiently . He had been once as far as the Mansion House , before the time when their mother 's long illness had made them almost prisoners in their lonely attic ; and Meg herself had wandered several times as far as the great church of St Paul . After the first dread was over , she found a trembling , anxious enjoyment in the sight of the shops , and of the well-dressed people in the streets .