six o'clock
I have eloped . _ _ Hildegarde . _ Shortly before six o'clock -- dinner in the palace was rarely served until half-after eight -- the Honorable Betty sat down to her writing-desk in her boudoir , which opened directly into that belonging to the princess , to write a few letters home . A dinner was to be given to the state officials that night , and she knew from experience that after that solemn event was concluded it would be too late for the departing mails . She seemed to have no difficulty in composing her thoughts and transferring them to paper . There were times when she would lean back , nibble the end of her pen and smile in a dreamy , retrospective fashion .