four o'clock in the
morning
The amount of space given in Russian novels to philosophical introspection and debate is a truthful portrayal of the subtle Russian mind . Russians love to talk ; they are strenuous in conversation , and forget their meals and their sleep . I have known some Russians who will sit up all night , engaged in the discussion of a purely abstract topic , totally oblivious to the passage of time . In `` A House of Gentlefolk , '' at four o'clock in the morning , Mihalevich is still talking about the social duties of Russian landowners , and he roars out , `` We are sleeping , and the time is slipping away ; we are sleeping ! '' Lavretsky replies , `` Permit me to observe , that we are not sleeping at present , but rather preventing others from sleeping . We are straining our throats like the cocks -- listen ! there is one crowing for the third time . ''