two o’clock
aristocratic , ' replied Miss Petowker ; ` something very aristocratic about him , is n't there ? ' The gentleman held their peace , and smiled at each other , as who should say , ` Well ! there 's no accounting for tastes ; ' but the ladies resolved unanimously that Nicholas had an aristocratic air ; and nobody caring to dispute the position , it was established triumphantly . The punch being , by this time , drunk out , and the little Kenwigses -LRB- who had for some time previously held their little eyes open with their little forefingers -RRB- becoming fractious , and requesting rather urgently to be put to bed , the collector made a move by pulling out his watch , and acquainting the company that it was nigh two o'clock ; whereat some of the guests were surprised and others shocked , and hats and bonnets being groped for under the tables , and in course of time found , their owners went away , after a vast deal of shaking of hands , and many remarks how they had never spent such a delightful evening , and how they marvelled to find it so late , expecting to have heard that it was half-past ten at the very latest , and how they wished that Mr. and Mrs Kenwigs had a wedding-day once a week , and how they wondered by what hidden agency Mrs. Kenwigs could possibly have managed so well ; and a great deal more of the same kind . To all of which flattering expressions , Mr. and Mrs. Kenwigs replied , by thanking every lady and gentleman , SERIATIM , for the favour of their company , and hoping they might have enjoyed themselves only half as well as they said they had . As to Nicholas , quite unconscious of the impression he had produced , he had long since fallen asleep , leaving Mr. Newman Noggs and Smike to empty the spirit bottle between them ; and this office they performed with such extreme good-will , that Newman was equally at a loss to determine whether he himself was quite sober , and whether he had ever seen any gentleman so heavily , drowsily , and completely intoxicated as his new acquaintance . Nicholas seeks to employ himself in a New Capacity , and being unsuccessful , accepts an engagement as Tutor in a Private Family The first care of Nicholas , next morning , was , to look after some room in which , until better times dawned upon him , he could contrive to exist , without trenching upon the hospitality of Newman Noggs , who would have slept upon the stairs with pleasure , so that his young friend was accommodated .