five o'clock
He would gladly have died , if he could only have kissed his son , he would have committed murder , performed any task , braved any danger , ventured anything . He wrote to her , but she did not reply , and after writing her some twenty letters he saw that there was no hope of altering her determination , and then he formed the desperate resolution of writing to her husband , being quite prepared to receive a bullet from a revolver , if need be . His letter only consisted of a few lines , as follows : `` Monsieur , `` You must have a perfect horror of my name , but I am so miserable , so overcome by misery , that my only hope is in you , and therefore I venture to request you to grant me an interview of only five minutes . '' `` I have the honor , etc. '' The next day he received the reply : `` Monsieur , `` I shall expect you to-morrow , Tuesday , at five o'clock . '' As he went up the staircase , François Tessier 's heart beat so violently that he had to stop several times . There was a dull and violent noise in his breast , the noise as of some animal galloping , and he could only breathe with difficulty , and had to hold on to the banisters in order not to fall . He rang the bell on the third floor , and when a maidservant had opened the door , he asked `` Does Monsieur Flamel live here ? ''