five o'clock
Was not that the Emperor , attended by his brilliant staff ? He hesitated , although for the last two days he had been boasting of his acquaintance with him , then stood staring , open-mouthed . It was indeed Napoleon III. ; he appeared larger , somehow , and more imposing on horseback , and his mustache was so stiffly waxed , there was such a brilliant color on his cheeks , that Delaherche saw at once he had been `` made up '' and painted like an actor . He had had recourse to cosmetics to conceal from his army the ravages that anxiety and illness had wrought in his countenance , the ghastly pallor of his face , his pinched nose , his dull , sunken eyes , and having been notified at five o'clock that there was fighting at Bazeilles , had come forth to see , sadly and silently , like a phantom with rouged cheeks . There was a brick-kiln near by , behind which there was safety from the rain of bullets that kept pattering incessantly on its other front and the shells that burst at every second on the road . The mounted group had halted . `` Sire , '' someone murmured , `` you are in danger -- '' But the Emperor turned and motioned to his staff to take refuge in the narrow road that skirted the kiln , where men and horses would be sheltered from the fire .