nearly midnight
So the time passed , the minutes flitting by , like the telegraph posts , in the dark , and Maitland reached the familiar Oxford Station . He jumped into a hansom , and said , `` Gatien 's . '' Past Worcester , up Carfax , down the High Street , they struggled through the snow ; and at last Maitland got out and kicked at the College gate . The porter -LRB- it was nearly midnight -RRB- opened it with rather a scared face : `` Horful row on in quad , sir , '' he said . `` The young gentlemen ` as a bonfire on , and they 're a larking with the snow . Orful A they 're a making , sir . '' The agricultural operation thus indicated by the porter was being forwarded with great vigor .