half after seven
* * * * * The next morning I slept late , until past seven in fact . It had ever been an axiom with us that the indolence attributed to the `` artistic temperament '' was a foolish tradition . Creative power undoubtedly comes late in the day and in the still night-watches ; often I had planned a whole book while in bed ; but there are many things to do in literature and art besides creation -- research , reading , preparing of palettes , writing of letters and so on , that can be better done early . So we breakfasted at half after seven as a rule . I managed to bathe and shave before Mac 's _ reveille _ sounded on the piano . As I opened my napkin I saw that Bill had something of importance to impart , and it came out at once . `` He 's mending the fence ! ''