midday
Camors found the General had not exaggerated the local importance of this personage , and that it was most essential to conciliate him . Resolving therefore to call on him during the day , he went to breakfast . This duty toward himself fulfilled , the young Count lounged on the terrace , as he had the evening before , and smoked his cigar . Though it was near midday , it was doubtful to him whether the solitude and silence appeared less complete and oppressive than on the preceding night . A hushed cackling of fowls , the drowsy hum of bees , and the muffled chime of a distant bell -- these were all the sounds to be heard . Camors lounged on the terrace , dreaming of his club , of the noisy Paris crowd , of the rumbling omnibuses , of the playbill of the little kiosk , of the scent of heated asphalt -- and the memory of the least of these enchantments brought infinite peace to his soul . The inhabitant of Paris has one great blessing , which he does not take into account until he suffers from its loss -- one great half of his existence is filled up without the least trouble to himself .