three o'clock
in the morning
The castellan replied : `` Sire , Frederick the Great had that dream on the 15th of August , 1769 . '' `` On my birthday ! '' ejaculated Napoleon . `` On the 15th of August , 1769 , '' repeated the old man , `` at three o'clock in the morning . '' `` The hour of my birth , '' muttered the emperor to himself . After a short pause he turned again toward the castellan , and a strange , sarcastic smile played on his lips . `` The star fell from the sky , and set fire to all the palaces and countries ? ''