a quarter to nine
You never realize how beautiful your flag is till you see it in a foreign land . I apologized for Max 's absence , explaining the cause , and ordered dinner to be served . We had n't much time , as Ellis 's train departed at ten . It was now a quarter to nine . We had come to the relishes when a party of four officers took the table nearest us . They hung up their sabers on the wall-pegs , and sat down , ordering a bottle of light wine . Usually there were five chairs to the table , but even if only two were being used no one had the right to withdraw one of the vacant chairs without the most elaborate apologies .