six in the evening
For this purpose he took his sabre , his pistols , and the fated brilliants he had brought back on a similar errand . He drew them from their deposit , with less feeling of sacrilege , in so disposing of such relics of the sacred past , than he had felt on the former occasion . They were now going to be devoted to gratitude and benevolence -- an act which he knew his parents , were they alive , would warmly approve ; and here he allowed the end to sanctify the means . About half-past six in the evening , he prepared himself for the task . Whether it be congenial with melancholy to seek the gloom , or whether the count found himself less observed under the shades of night , is not evident ; but since his exile , he preferred the dusk to any other part of the day . Before he went out , he asked Mrs. Robson for Mr. Vincent 's bill . Sinking with obligation and shame , she put it into his hand , and he left the house .