midnight
The servants took possession during the day and were duly noted , but how or when the proprietor came could not be ascertained , while after his installation glimpses of him were exceedingly rare . Occasionally , however , a beautiful girl , with an oriental look notwithstanding her tasteful and elegant Parisian attire , would be seen for a moment at the windows , but she invariably vanished on realizing that she was observed . Sometimes , a handsome young man stood at her side , but he also seemed anxious to avoid the scrutiny of the curious , although he evinced less timidity than his companion , always withdrawing slowly and with great deliberation . It was after midnight . On the second floor of the pavilion once inhabited by the Viscount Albert de Morcerf was now a spacious library . The walls were lined with tall book-shelves , mounting to the lofty ceiling , and groaning under ponderous piles of volumes , from the huge black letter folio of the Middle Ages to the lightest duodecimo of the day ; while in all parts of the chamber , on the floor , tables and chairs , and in the deep embrasures of the windows , were scattered huge masses of papers , pamphlets , manuscripts and charts . Over the bookcases stood marble busts of Danton , Mirabeau , Napoleon , Armand Carrel , the Duc de St. Simon and other great men whose names are identified with France ; between the windows looking out on the garden , shrouded in shrubs and creeping plants , hung a full-length and magnificent picture of Fourier .