four o'clock
It was Miss Rylance 's last term , and the doctor wished to assist at those honours which she would doubtless reap as the reward of meritorious studies . He was not blindly devoted to his daughter , but he was convinced that , like every thing else belonging to him , she was of the best quality ; and he expected to see her appreciated by the people who had been privileged to educate her . The distribution of prizes was the great feature of the day . It was to take place at four o'clock , in the ball room , a fine old panelled saloon , in which the only furniture was a pair of grand pianos , somewhat the worse for wear , a table at the end of the room on which the prizes were arranged , and benches covered with crimson cloth for the accommodation of the company . There was to be a concert before the distribution . Four of the best pianoforte players in the school were to hammer out an intensely noisy version of the overture to _ Zampa _ , arranged for eight hands on two pianos . The crack singer was to sing ` Una voce , ' and Ida Palliser was to play the ` Moonlight Sonata . '