eight
in the evening
It appeared that the Duchess did not always dine at half-past eleven . The feast was a movable one , from eight o'clock onwards . The Duchess and the establishment had got into these habits during the old Duke 's time . A very strange man the old Duke ; rarely got up till eight in the evening , often prolonged breakfast till next day . `` But I need not tell _ you _ all this , Percy , my old pupil , '' said the chaplain ; and he winked as a clergyman ought not to wink . `` My dear sir , '' cried I , encouraged by this performance , `` for Heaven 's sake tell me what all this means ? In this so-called nineteenth century , in our boasted age of progress , what _ does _ the Duchess mean by her invitation to me , and by her conduct at large ?