five
o'clock
The snow on the market-roof threw a white , still light into the room ; then the rain began to fall ; and Emma waited daily with a mind full of eagerness for the inevitable return of some trifling events which nevertheless had no relation to her . The most important was the arrival of the `` Hirondelle '' in the evening . Then the landlady shouted out , and other voices answered , while Hippolyte 's lantern , as he fetched the boxes from the boot , was like a star in the darkness . At mid-day Charles came in ; then he went out again ; next she took some beef-tea , and towards five o'clock , as the day drew in , the children coming back from school , dragging their wooden shoes along the pavement , knocked the clapper of the shutters with their rulers one after the other . It was at this hour that Monsieur Bournisien came to see her . He inquired after her health , gave her news , exhorted her to religion in a coaxing little gossip that was not without its charm . The mere thought of his cassock comforted her .