eight o’clock
But in spite of all this , she was happy . The comfort of her new surroundings had obliterated her sadness . Every Thursday , friends of Madame Aubain dropped in for a game of cards , and it was Felicite 's duty to prepare the table and heat the foot-warmers . They arrived at exactly eight o'clock and departed before eleven . Every Monday morning , the dealer in second-hand goods , who lived under the alley-way , spread out his wares on the sidewalk . Then the city would be filled with a buzzing of voices in which the neighing of horses , the bleating of lambs , the grunting of pigs , could be distinguished , mingled with the sharp sound of wheels on the cobble-stones . About twelve o'clock , when the market was in full swing , there appeared at the front door a tall , middle-aged peasant , with a hooked nose and a cap on the back of his head ; it was Robelin , the farmer of Geffosses .