four o’clock
At one o'clock in the morning the Rue de la Sante , the Boulevard Arago and all the streets abutting on the gaol were guarded by police , who allowed no one to pass without a regular cross-examination . For that matter , it was raining in torrents ; and it seemed as though the lovers of this sort of show would not be very numerous . The public-houses were all closed by special order . At four o'clock three companies of infantry came and took up their positions along the pavements , while a battalion occupied the Boulevard Arago in case of a surprise . Municipal guards cantered up and down between the lines ; a whole staff of police-magistrates , officers and functionaries , brought together for the occasion , moved about among the troops . The guillotine was set up in silence , in the middle of the square formed by the boulevard and the street ; and the sinister sound of hammering was heard . But , at five o'clock , the crowd gathered , notwithstanding the rain , and people began to sing .