one o’clock
It is one of those little taverns which abound in the heart of the city and form the centre of gossip and intelligence of the neighborhood . We entered the barroom , which was narrow and darkling , for in these close lanes but few rays of reflected light are enabled to struggle down to the inhabitants , whose broad day is at best but a tolerable twilight . The room was partitioned into boxes , each containing a table spread with a clean white cloth , ready for dinner . This showed that the guests were of the good old stamp , and divided their day equally , for it was but just one o'clock . At the lower end of the room was a clear coal fire , before which a breast of lamb was roasting . A row of bright brass candlesticks and pewter mugs glistened along the mantelpiece , and an old fashioned clock ticked in one corner . There was something primitive in this medley of kitchen , parlor , and hall that carried me back to earlier times , and pleased me .