ten o’clock
It might be so . Never mind , never mind , Bold ; anything , _ anything _ for excitement and forgetfulness of the days gone by . Every one has heard of the gentleman who went to spend a fortnight at Vienna in the prime of his youth , and died there at a ripe old age , having never afterwards been beyond the walls of the town . Though the climate is allowed to be detestable , the heat of summer being aggravated by a paucity of shade and a superabundance of dust , whilst the rigorous cold of winter is enhanced by the absence of fire-places and the scarcity of fuel ; though the streets are narrow and the carriages numerous , the hotels always full , and the shops very dear ; though the police is strict and officious to a degree , and its regulations tyrannical in the extreme ; though every house , private as well as public , must be closed at ten o'clock , and a ball-giver or lady who `` receives '' must have a special permission from the Government , -- yet , with all these drawbacks , no city in the world , not even lively Paris itself , seems so popular with pleasure-seekers as Vienna . There is a gaiety in the very air of the town : a smiling , prosperous good-humour visible on the countenances of its inhabitants , a picturesque beauty in the houses , a splendid comfort in the shops , and a taste and magnificence in the public buildings , which form a most attractive _ tout ensemble _ . Then you lead a pleasant , cheerful , do-nothing sort of life . You have your coffee in bed , where you can also read a novel in perfect comfort , for German beds have no curtains to intercept the morning light , or make a bonfire of the nocturnal student .