half past nine
... '' Such thoughts engaged him until he found himself in his study . His desk and his writing table were piled high with a heavy burthen of work . Still a little preoccupied with Dr. Martineau 's exposition , he began to handle this confusion ... . At half past nine he found himself with three hours of good work behind him . It had seemed like two . He had not worked like this for many weeks . `` This is very cheering , '' he said .