midnight
Old recollections of the first day when he met with Nanina , of the first sitting she had given him in Luca Lomi 's studio , of the first visit to the neat little room in the by-street , began to rise more and more vividly in his mind . Entirely absorbed by them , he sat absently drawing with pen and ink , on some sheets of letter-paper lying under his hand , lines and circles , and fragments of decorations , and vague remembrances of old ideas for statues , until the sudden sinking of the flame of his lamp awoke his attention abruptly to present things . He looked at his watch . It was close on midnight . This discovery at last aroused him to the necessity of immediate departure . In a few minutes he had put on his domino and mask , and was on his way to the ball . Before he reached the Melani Palace the first part of the entertainment had come to an end .