nine o'clock
No one paid them any attention , and they drove through the Place d'Armes and on to the marketplace ; where they knew there were many inns , frequented by the market people . Here -- as they expected -- they found it impossible to get a bed ; but they had no difficulty in obtaining permission for the wagon to stand in a yard , and were lucky enough to get stable room for the horses . They went into the town and bought four blankets ; and as , at starting , they had filled the wagon two feet deep with straw , they had -- in spite of the cold weather -- every hope of passing a comfortable night . Dinner was the next thing and , that over , they strolled about until nine o'clock . It was a singular sight , this army of invaders comfortably quartered in the ancient capital of France . The palace , the statues in front of it , everything told of the glories of France ; every park around , every little palace was infinitely associated with its sovereigns ; and here , in the midst of these memorials , the German invaders stalked carelessly , drank in the cafes , or feasted in the hotels , as if the place had belonged to them from time immemorial . Afar off , in the quiet of the evening , could be heard the distant boom of the guns round the beleaguered city .