Twelve o'clock
He who dines latest is the greatest man ; and he who dines earliest is accounted the least . In a flag-ship , the Commodore generally dines about four or five o'clock ; the Captain about three ; the Lieutenants about two ; while _ the people _ -LRB- by which phrase the common seamen are specially designated in the nomenclature of the quarter-deck -RRB- sit down to their salt beef exactly at noon . Thus it will be seen , that while the two estates of sea-kings and sea-lords dine at rather patrician hours -- and thereby , in the long run , impair their digestive functions -- the sea-commoners , or _ the people _ , keep up their constitutions , by keeping up the good old-fashioned , Elizabethan , Franklin-warranted dinner hour of twelve . Twelve o'clock ! It is the natural centre , key-stone , and very heart of the day . At that hour , the sun has arrived at the top of his hill ; and as he seems to hang poised there a while , before coming down on the other side , it is but reasonable to suppose that he is then stopping to dine ; setting an eminent example to all mankind . The rest of the day is called _ afternoon _ ; the very sound of which fine old Saxon word conveys a feeling of the lee bulwarks and a nap ; a summer sea -- soft breezes creeping over it ; dreamy dolphins gliding in the distance .