eight o'clock
And all the while a dropping fire of proofs and revises and messages was kept up at them from without , which they had to carry to their chief and deal with according to his orders . Horace , being inexperienced , was only able to take up the simpler portions of this miscellaneous work , but these kept him busy , `` hammer and tongs , '' with scarcely time to sneeze till well on in the afternoon . The _ Rocket _ , unlike most evening papers , waited till the evening before it appeared , and did not go to press till five o'clock . After that it issued later editions once an hour till eight o'clock , and on special occasions even as late as ten . The great rush of the day , therefore , as Horace soon discovered , was over at five o'clock , but between that hour and seven there was always plenty to do in connection with the late editions and the following day 's work . At seven o'clock every one left except a sub-editor and one of the clerks , and one or two compositors , to see after the eight o'clock and any possible later edition . `` As soon as you get your hand in , young ` un , you 'll have to take your turn at late work .