a quarter to eight
Drake received this note as he was sitting alone in his chambers smoking a cigarette after drinking a cup of tea , in that hour of glamour that is between the lights . It seemed to bring with it a secret breath of passion out of the atmosphere in which it had been written . At the first impulse it went up to his lips , but at the next moment he was smitten by the memory of something , and he thought : `` I will do what is right ; I will play the game fair . '' He dined that night with a group of civil servants at his club in St. James 's Street , but at a quarter to eight , notwithstanding some playful bantering , he put on his overcoat and turned toward the park . The autumn night was soft and peaceful ; the stars were out and the moon had risen ; a fragrant mist came up from the lake , and the smoke of his cigar was hardly troubled by the breeze that pattered the withered tassels of the laburnums . Big Ben was striking eight as he reached the end of the little bridge , and almost immediately afterward he was aware of soft and hurrying footsteps approaching him . Glory had come down by the Mall .