about
three o'clock
I suppose anybody else would have divined what was in the wind , but I did not . * * * * * A week later we were treated to an all-night sitting . The Irishmen had been quiescent of late , but on this occasion they made amends for their temporary relaxation of patriotism by resolutely obstructing an Appropriation Bill , which had to pass through Committee that night -LRB- if John Bull was to have any ready cash at all during the next few months -RRB- , and kept us replying to amendments and trotting through division-lobbies until six o'clock next morning . Robin stayed on in attendance at the House most of the night , but about three o'clock I sent him home , with instructions to stay in bed till tea-time if he pleased . He had had a hard time lately . I was walking homeward in the early sunshine , marvelling , as people who accidentally find themselves up early pharisaically do , at the fatuity of those who waste the best hours of the whole day in bed , and revelling in the near prospect of a bath and my breakfast , when on turning a corner I walked into a hand-cart which was standing across the pavement . It contained workmen 's tools -- picks , shovels , and the like .