about eleven o'clock
The painter did not want curiosity and inclination to accompany him , but expressed his apprehension of losing him in the ball ; an accident which could not fail to be very disagreeable , as he was an utter stranger to the language and the town . To obviate this objection , the landlady , who was of their council , advised him to appear in a woman 's dress , which would lay his companion under the necessity of attending him with more care , as he could not with decency detach himself from the lady whom he should introduce ; besides , such a connection would hinder the ladies of pleasure from accosting and employing their seducing arts upon a person already engaged . Our young gentleman foreseeing the abundance of diversion in the execution of this project , seconded the proposal with such importunity and address , that the painter allowed himself to be habited in a suit belonging to the landlady , who also procured for him a mask and domino , while Pickle provided himself with a Spanish dress . In this disguise , which they put on about eleven o'clock , did they , attended by Pipes , set out in a fiacre for the ball-room , into which Pickle led this supposititious female , to the astonishment of the whole company , who had never seen such an uncouth figure in the appearance of a woman . After they had taken a view of all the remarkable masks , and the painter had been treated with a of glass of liqueur , his mischievous companion gave him the slip ; and , vanishing in an instant , returned with another mask and a domino over his habit , that he might enjoy Pallet 's perplexity , and be at hand to protect him from insult . The poor painter , having lost his guide , was almost distracted with anxiety , and stalked about the room , in quest of him , with such huge strides and oddity of gesture , that he was followed by a whole multitude , who gazed at him as a preternatural phenomenon . This attendance increased his uneasiness to such a degree , that he could not help uttering a soliloquy aloud , in which he cursed his fate for having depended upon the promise of such a wag ; and swore , that if once he was clear of this scrape , he would not bring himself into such a premunire again for the whole kingdom of France .