noon
So saying the priest made Lucille accompany him to his home , and forcing her to refresh herself less sparingly than she had yet done since she had left Malines , he gave her his blessing , and a letter to Le Kain , which he rightly judged would insure her a patient hearing from the physician . Well known among all men of science was the name of the priest , and a word of recommendation from him went further , where virtue and wisdom were honoured , than the longest letter from the haughtiest sieur in Flanders . With a patient and hopeful spirit , the young pilgrim turned her back on the Roman Cologne ; and now about to rejoin St. Amand , she felt neither the heat of the sun nor the weariness of the road . It was one day at noon that she again passed through Louvain , and she soon found herself by the noble edifice of the Hotel de Ville . Proud rose its spires against the sky , and the sun shone bright on its rich tracery and Gothic casements ; the broad open street was crowded with persons of all classes , and it was with some modest alarm that Lucille lowered her veil and mingled with the throng . It was easy , as the priest had said , to find the house of Le Kain ; she bade the servant take the priest 's letter to his master , and she was not long kept waiting before she was admitted to the physician 's presence . He was a spare , tall man , with a bald front , and a calm and friendly countenance .