two o’clock
She wanted a place for Birotteau . Birotteau , she said , would be the most upright of cashiers , -- if there could be degrees of integrity among honest men . `` The King has just appointed the Comte de Fontaine master of his household ; there is no time to be lost in making the application , '' said the mayor . At two o'clock Monsieur de la Billardiere and Madame Cesar went up the grand staircase of the Hotel de Lenoncourt , Rue Saint-Dominique , and were ushered into the presence of the nobleman whom the king preferred to all others , -- if it can be said that Louis XVIII . ever had a preference . The gracious welcome of this great lord , who belonged to the small number of true gentlemen whom the preceding century bequeathed to ours , encouraged Madame Cesar . She was dignified , yet simple , in her sorrow .