ten o’clock in the
morning
Do I set my mind to analyse the abominable impossibility which , nevertheless , confronts me as an undeniable fact ? Do I hurry back to London by the first train to consult the highest authorities , and to set a searching inquiry on foot immediately ? No . I accept the shelter of a house which I had resolved never to degrade myself by entering again ; and I sit , tippling spirits and water in the company of an old servant , at ten o'clock in the morning . Is this the conduct that might have been expected from a man placed in my horrible position ? I can only answer that the sight of old Betteredge 's familiar face was an inexpressible comfort to me , and that the drinking of old Betteredge 's grog helped me , as I believe nothing else would have helped me , in the state of complete bodily and mental prostration into which I had fallen . I can only offer this excuse for myself ; and I can only admire that invariable preservation of dignity , and that strictly logical consistency of conduct which distinguish every man and woman who may read these lines , in every emergency of their lives from the cradle to the grave .