nine o'clock in the evening
Mrs. Hackit 's eyes were of that kind , and one day , when Mr. and Mrs. Barton had been dining with her for the first time since Milly 's illness , she observed to her husband -- ` That poor thing 's dreadful weak an ' delicate ; she wo n't stan ' havin ' many more children . Mr. Barton , meanwhile , had been indefatigable in his vocation . He had preached two extemporary sermons every Sunday at the workhouse , where a room had been fitted up for divine service , pending the alterations in the church ; and had walked the same evening to a cottage at one or other extremity of his parish to deliver another sermon , still more extemporary , in an atmosphere impregnated with spring-flowers and perspiration . After all these labours you will easily conceive that he was considerably exhausted by half-past nine o'clock in the evening , and that a supper at a friendly parishioner 's , with a glass , or even two glasses , of brandy-and-water after it , was a welcome reinforcement . Mr. Barton was not at all an ascetic ; he thought the benefits of fasting were entirely confined to the Old Testament dispensation ; he was fond of relaxing himself with a little gossip ; indeed , Miss Bond , and other ladies of enthusiastic views , sometimes regretted that Mr. Barton did not more uninterruptedly exhibit a superiority to the things of the flesh . Thin ladies , who take little exercise , and whose livers are not strong enough to bear stimulants , are so extremely critical about one 's personal habits ! And , after all , the Rev. Amos never came near the borders of a vice .