11 o’clock
Many of the professors were good fellows , that liked grog fully as well as Greek , and understood short whist , and five and ten quite as intimately as they knew the Vulgate , or the confessions of St. Augustine -- they made no ostentacious display of their pious zeal , but whenever they were not fasting , or praying , or something of that kind , they were always pleasant and agreeable ; and to do them justice , never refused , by any chance , an invitation to dinner -- no matter at what inconvenience . Well , even this little solace in our affliction we soon lost , by an unfortunate mistake of that Orange rogue of the world , Major Jones , that gave a wrong pass one night -- Mr. Lorrequer knows the story , -LRB- here he alluded to an adventure detailed in an early chapter of my Confessions -RRB- -- and from that day forward we never saw the pleasant faces of the Abbe D'Array , or the Professor of the Humanities , at the mess . Well , the only thing I could do , was just to take an opportunity to drop in at the College in the evening , where we had a quiet rubber of whist , and a little social and intellectual conversation , with maybe an oyster and a glass of punch , just to season the thing , before we separated ; all done discreetly and quietly -- no shouting nor even singing , for the ` superior ' had a prejudice about profane songs . Well , one of those nights it was , about the first week in February , I was detained by stress of weather from 11 o'clock , when we usually bade good-night , to past twelve , and then to one o'clock , waiting for a dry moment to get home to the barracks -- a good mile and a half off . Every time old Father Mahony went to look at the weather , he came back saying , ` It 's worse it 's getting ; such a night of rain , glory be to God , never was seen . ' So there was no good in going out to be drenched to the skin , and I sat quietly waiting , taking , between times , a little punch , just not to seem impatient , nor distress their rev ' rances . At last it struck two , and I thought -- ` well , the decanter is empty now , and I think , if I mean to walk , I 've taken enough for the present ; ' so , wishing them all manner of happiness , and pleasant dreams , I stumbled by way down stairs , and set out on my journey .