two o'clock in the morning
That is his employer , gentlemen . Such is the profession ! '' Without distinctly knowing whether I should have been more sorry for Mr. Wopsle if he had been in despair , I was so sorry for him as it was , that I took the opportunity of his turning round to have his braces put on , -- which jostled us out at the doorway , -- to ask Herbert what he thought of having him home to supper ? Herbert said he thought it would be kind to do so ; therefore I invited him , and he went to Barnard 's with us , wrapped up to the eyes , and we did our best for him , and he sat until two o'clock in the morning , reviewing his success and developing his plans . I forget in detail what they were , but I have a general recollection that he was to begin with reviving the Drama , and to end with crushing it ; inasmuch as his decease would leave it utterly bereft and without a chance or hope . Miserably I went to bed after all , and miserably thought of Estella , and miserably dreamed that my expectations were all cancelled , and that I had to give my hand in marriage to Herbert 's Clara , or play Hamlet to Miss Havisham 's Ghost , before twenty thousand people , without knowing twenty words of it . One day when I was busy with my books and Mr. Pocket , I received a note by the post , the mere outside of which threw me into a great flutter ; for , though I had never seen the handwriting in which it was addressed , I divined whose hand it was .