three in the afternoon
One night , waking up , he no longer found Musette beside him . He rose , hastened into the next room , and perceived his mistress , who profited nightly by his slumbers to water the flowers and hinder them from perishing . It was the nineteenth of March , 184 -- . Should Rodolphe reach the age of Methuselah , he will never forget the date ; for it was on that day , at three in the afternoon , that our friend issued from a banker 's where he had just received five hundred francs in current and sounding specie . The first use Rodolphe made of this slice of Peru which had fallen into his pocket was not to pay his debts , inasmuch as he had sworn to himself to practice economy and go to no extra expense . He had a fixed idea on this subject , and declared that before thinking of superfluities , one ought to provide for necessaries . Therefore it was that he paid none of his creditors , and bought a Turkish pipe which he had long coveted .