eight o'clock
On the other side a man stood at a bench lasting the uppers to the insoles , and then pegging for dear life ; near him sat a finisher , who shaved and blackened the rough edges , handing the finished article to a boy , who gave it a coat of gloss and placed it in the front of the window for inspection . A placard invited the public to watch the process of making Jonah 's Famous Silver Shoes . The people crowded about as if it were a play , delighted with the novelty , following the stages in the growth of a boot with the pleasure of a boy examining the inside of a watch . At eight o'clock another surprise was ready . A brass band began to play popular airs on the balcony , hung about with Chinese lanterns , and a row of electric bulbs flashed out , marking the outline of the wonderful silver shoe , glittering and gigantic in the white light . The crowd looked up , and made bets on the length of the shoe , and recalled the time , barely five years ago , when the same man -- Jonah the hunchback -- had astonished Botany Road with his flaring signs in red and white . True , his shop was still on the Road , for Regent Street is but the fag end of a long , dusty road where it saunters into town , snobbishly conscious of larger buildings and higher rents .