three
o'clock
It would have been a strange scene for an American public , the street corridor of the lofty house near the church of Saint Sulpice , on the funeral afternoon . The coffin lay upon a draped table , and festoons of crape threw phantom shadows upon the soiled velvet covering . Each passing pedestrian and cabman took off his hat a moment . The Southern Colony were in the landlady 's bureau enjoying a lunch and liquor , and precisely at three o'clock they came down stairs , not more dilapidated than usual , while at the same moment the municipal hearse drove up , attended by one _ cocher _ and two _ croquemorts _ . -LSB- D -RSB- -LSB- Footnote D : Literally , `` parasites of death . '' -RSB- The hearse was a cheap charity affair , furnished by the _ Maire _ of the _ arrondissement _ , though it was sprucely painted and decked with funeral cloth . The driver wore a huge black chapeau , a white cotton cravat , and thigh-boots , which , standing up stiffly as he sat , seemed to engulf him to the ears .