two o'clock in the morning
Very smart relatives , who had sent umbrella-handles and photograph-frames , were charming , and very anxious to get away ; heavy relatives , who had sent cheques , stayed very late , and took it out of everybody in tediousness ; the girls were longing for a chance to flirt , which did not come ; young men for an opportunity to smoke , which did . Elderly men , their equilibrium a little upset by champagne in the afternoon , fell quite in love with the bride , were humorous and jovial until the entertainment was over , and very snappish to their wives driving home . Like all weddings it had left the strange feeling of futility , the slight sense of depression that comes to English people who have tried , from their strong sense of tradition , to be festive and sentimental and in high spirits too early in the day . The frame of mind supposed to be appropriate to an afternoon wedding can only be genuinely experienced by an Englishman at two o'clock in the morning . Hence the dreary failure of these exhibitions . Lord Selsey was present , very suave and cultivated , and critical , and delighted to see his desire realised . Mrs Raymond was not there .