Twelve o'clock
His habit was to linger over breakfast , propping a book against the sugar basin , and taking it and his rasher slice about , which was , he insisted , the peculiar joy of a bachelor 's breakfast ; but this morning Sarah found him at ten o'clock still at table , gazing intently at an untouched cutlet , and without any book . He swallowed two mouthfuls hurriedly and hastened to the study , leaving her to understand that he had been immersed in a theological problem . It seemed only reasonable that a man should have one pipe before settling down to a forenoon of hard study , but there is no doubt that the wreaths of smoke , as they float upwards , take fantastic shapes , and lend themselves to visions . Twelve o'clock -- it was outrageous -- six hours gone without a stroke of work . Sarah is informed that , as he has a piece of very stiff work to do , luncheon must be an hour later , and that the terrier had better go out for a walk . Then Carmichael cleared his table and set himself down to a new German critic , who was doing marvellous things with the Prophet Isaiah . In three thick volumes -- paper bound and hideous to behold -- and in a style of elaborate repulsiveness , Schlochenboshen showed that the book had been written by a syndicate , on the principle that each member contributed one verse in turn , without reference to his neighbours .