four o’clock
The young men had now begun to cross the bridge , and they shrugged their shoulders with compassion . Then , on reaching the Place de la Concorde , they stopped short and relapsed into silence . ` Well , ' opined Claude at last , ` this is n't bad , by any means . ' It was four o'clock , and the day was waning amidst a glorious powdery shimmer . To the right and left , towards the Madeleine and towards the Corps Legislatif , lines of buildings stretched away , showing against the sky , while in the Tuileries Gardens rose gradients of lofty rounded chestnut trees . And between the verdant borders of the pleasure walks , the avenue of the Champs Elysees sloped upward as far as the eye could reach , topped by the colossal Arc de Triomphe , agape in front of the infinite . A double current , a twofold stream rolled along -- horses showing like living eddies , vehicles like retreating waves , which the reflections of a panel or the sudden sparkle of the glass of a carriage lamp seemed to tip with white foam .