midnight
_ Never undertake a thing unless you can see your way to the end of it . _ '' I could not help smiling to think how soon chance had led me to violate this excellent rule . But I am not likely to be confronted again by such circumstances , thought I , and this affair once seen through , I shall be careful ; while the other maxims , being more particular , are easier to obey , and obey them I certainly will . I rode on till near midnight , and then , for the sake of the horse as well as the rider , I turned out of the road at a little stream , unsaddled among some poplar trees , and lay down , with my travelling bag for pillow , and my cloak for bed and blanket . The horse , left to his will , chose to lie near me ; and so , in well-earned sleep , we passed the rest of the night . The next morning , when we were on the road again , I decided to exchange talk with as many travellers as possible who were going my way , in the hope of falling in with one who knew Montoire . At a distance from the place , I might more safely be inquisitive about Monsieur de Merri and his friendships than at Montoire itself .