eight o'clock
After struggling for what seemed a lifetime through mazes of darkness and terror , he awoke . A few nights after the meeting in the woods , Leigh was hurrying along Birdseye Avenue , like the belated White Rabbit on its way to the Queen 's croquet party . He was going to a lecture on Velasquez at the house of one of his colleagues , Professor Littleford . The beginning of the lecture was set for eight o'clock , and it was now past the hour , for he had been detained in the city by the joint debate between Emmet and Judge Swigart , put at half past five that the workingmen might have an opportunity to attend . The time consumed in returning to the Hall , in dining and dressing , almost convinced him of the advisability of staying at home , but he reflected that to do so was probably to miss a chance of seeing Miss Wycliffe , and this was a risk he was by no means disposed to run . He was possessed by a desire to see her again and to test the permanency of her last mood with him , when she had demanded her gloves and left him in despair . If she were inclined to repentance , he felt that he would know it , even if he managed to meet her for only a moment in the midst of the crowd .