five in the morning
`` The lad is in a good school , '' thought Moreau . For two whole years Oscar lived in the rue de Bethisy , a den of pettifogging ; for if ever that superannuated expression was applicable to a lawyer 's office , it was so in this case . Under this supervision , both petty and able , he was kept to his regular hours and to his work with such rigidity that his life in the midst of Paris was that of a monk . At five in the morning , in all weathers , Godeschal woke up . He went down with Oscar to the office , where they always found their master up and working . Oscar then did the errands of the office and prepared his lessons for the law-school , -- and prepared them elaborately ; for Godeschal , and frequently Desroches himself , pointed out to their pupil authors to be looked through and difficulties to overcome . He was not allowed to leave a single section of the Code until he had thoroughly mastered it to the satisfaction of his chief and Godeschal , who put him through preliminary examinations more searching and longer than those of the law-school .