6:30 p.m.
In the time of his prosperity , young Gurwood had made many friends , but a touch of pride had induced him to turn aside from these -- although many of them would undoubtedly have been glad to aid him in his aims -- to quit the house of his childhood and betake himself to the flourishing town of Clatterby , where he knew nobody except one soft amiable little school-fellow , whom in boyish days he had always deemed a poor , miserable little creature , but for whom nevertheless he entertained a strong affection . We need scarcely say that this was Joseph Tipps , the clerk at Langrye station . Locomotives and telegraphy are mere snails compared to thought . Let us therefore use our advantage , reader , stride in advance of the 6:30 p.m. train -LRB- which by the way has now become a 7:45 p.m. train -RRB- , and see what little Joseph Tipps is doing . There he stands -- five feet four in his highest-heeled boots -- as sterling and warm-hearted a little man as ever breathed . He was writing at a little desk close to a large window , which , owing to the station being a temporary one and its roof low , was flimsy , and came nearer to the ground than most windows do . Mr Tipps wrote somewhat nervously .