about two o’clock
The needful preparations were soon made , and the travelling party set off in high spirits . The journey was rapid and delightful . Relays of horses had been sent on in advance by Vallombreuse , so that in a few days they reached the point where the road leading to the Chateau de Sigognac branched off from the great post-road . It was about two o'clock of a bright , warm afternoon when the carriage turned off the highway , and as they got , at the same moment , their first view of the chateau , de Sigognac could not believe the testimony of his own eyes -- he was bewildered , dazzled , overwhelmed -- he no longer recognised the familiar details which had been so deeply impressed upon his memory . All was changed , as if by magic . The road , smooth , free from grass and weeds , and freshly gravelled , had no more ruts ; the hedges , neatly trimmed and properly tended , no longer reached out long , straggling arms to catch the rare passer-by ; the tall trees on either side had been carefully pruned , so that their branches met in an arch overhead , and framed in a most astonishing picture . Instead of the dreary ruin , slowly crumbling into dust , a fine new chateau rose before them -- resembling the old one as a son resembles his father .