four o'clock in the afternoon
Christopher Marlowe . For every inch that is not fool is rogue . Dryden . The scene is Mrs. Hazeldine 's drawing-room , in Park Lane , the hour is four o'clock in the afternoon , and the _ dramatis personæ _ are Miss Nevill , very red in the face , standing in a corner , behind an oblong velvet table covered with china ornaments , and Monsieur Le Vicomte D'Arblet , also red in the face , gesticulating violently on the further side of it . Miss Nevill , having retired behind the oblong table , purely from prudential motives of personal safety , is devoured with anxiety concerning the too imminent fate of her hostess ' china . There is a little Lowestoft tea-service that was picked up only last week at Christie and Manson 's , a turquoise blue crackle jar that is supposed to be priceless , and a pair of `` Long Eliza '' vases , which her hostess loves as much as she does her toy terrier , and far better than she loves her husband . What will become of her , Vera Nevill , if Mrs. Hazeldine comes in presently and finds these treasures lying in a thousand pieces upon the floor ?