eight o'clock
But time enough to think of that to-morrow . '' And do what I would I could not turn him . In the end , therefore , I took my leave of him as if for the night , and retired leaving him at play with the Duke of Epernon . But an hour later , towards eight o'clock , he made an excuse to withdraw to his closet , and met me outside the eastern gate of the Louvre . He was masked , and had with him only Coquet , the master of the household . I too had taken a mask and was esquired by Maignan , under whose orders were four Swiss -- whom I had chosen because they spoke no French -- and who had Andrew in charge . I bade Maignan follow the innkeeper 's directions , and we proceeded in two parties through the streets in the direction of the Arsenal , until we reached the mouth of an obscure lane near the gardens of St. Pol , so narrow that the decrepit wooden houses shut out well-nigh all view of the sky .