four
o’clock in the afternoon
Gradually the greedy Treasury became severe ; it forced all public conveyances not to roll unless they carried two certificates , -- one showing that they had been weighed , the other that their taxes were duly paid . All things have their salad days , even the Treasury ; and in 1822 those days still lasted . Often in summer , the `` four-wheel-coach , '' and the coucou journeyed together , carrying between them thirty-two passengers , though Pierrotin was only paying a tax on six . On these specially lucky days the convoy started from the faubourg Saint-Denis at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon , and arrived gallantly at Isle-Adam by ten at night . Proud of this service , which necessitated the hire of an extra horse , Pierrotin was wont to say : -- `` We went at a fine pace ! '' But in order to do the twenty-seven miles in five hours with his caravan , he was forced to omit certain stoppages along the road , -- at Saint-Brice , Moisselles , and La Cave . The hotel du Lion d'Argent occupies a piece of land which is very deep for its width .