a quarter before four
His breakfast consisted of a side-dish , a broiled fish with Reading sauce , a scarlet slice of roast beef garnished with mushrooms , a rhubarb and gooseberry tart , and a morsel of Cheshire cheese , the whole being washed down with several cups of tea , for which the Reform is famous . He rose at thirteen minutes to one , and walked towards the large hall , a sumptuous apartment adorned with lavishly framed paintings . A porter handed him an uncut Times , which he proceeded to cut with a skill which betrayed familiarity with this delicate operation . The reading of this paper absorbed Phileas Fogg until a quarter before four , while the Standard , his next task , occupied him till the dinner hour . Dinner passed as breakfast had done , and Mr. Fogg reappeared in the reading-room and sat down to the Pall Mall at twenty minutes before six . Half an hour later several members of the Reform Club came in and drew up to the fireplace , where a coal fire was steadily burning . They were Mr. Fogg 's usual partners at whist : Andrew Stuart , an engineer ; John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin , bankers ; Thomas Flanagan , a brewer ; and Gauthier Ralph , one of the Directors of the Bank of England -- all rich and highly respectable persons , even in a club which comprises the princes of English trade and finance .