two o’clock
The merchant , the lover , the wife , the widow , the mother , the school-boy , the very child who tottered to the door at the postman 's knock -- how had they all looked forward to the arrival of the old coach . And where were they all now ? ` Gentlemen , my uncle used to _ say _ that he thought all this at the time , but I rather suspect he learned it out of some book afterwards , for he distinctly stated that he fell into a kind of doze , as he sat on the old axle-tree looking at the decayed mail coaches , and that he was suddenly awakened by some deep church bell striking two . Now , my uncle was never a fast thinker , and if he had thought all these things , I am quite certain it would have taken him till full half-past two o'clock at the very least . I am , therefore , decidedly of opinion , gentlemen , that my uncle fell into a kind of doze , without having thought about anything at all . ` Be this as it may , a church bell struck two . My uncle woke , rubbed his eyes , and jumped up in astonishment .