midday
Half was I glad of Monsieur 's danger , for it gave me chance to show what stuff I was made of . Live for him , die for him -- whatever fate could offer I was ready for . The hôtel , when at length I arrived before it , was no disappointment . Here one did not wait till midday to see the sun ; the street was of decent width , and the houses held themselves back with reserve , like the proud gentlemen who inhabited them . Nor did one here regret his possession of a nose , as he was forced to do in the Rue Coupejarrets . Of all the mansions in the place , the Hôtel St. Quentin was , in my opinion , the most imposing ; carved and ornamented and stately , with gardens at the side . But there was about it none of that stir and liveliness one expects to see about the houses of the great .