minutes before noon
To-morrow I go to wish her adieu ; and we are to be at the Tuileries by noon . The Emperor holds a levée , and our final orders will then be given . '' The old general rallied at the last few words he spoke , and pressing my hand affectionately , wished me goodnight , and withdrew ; while I , with a mind confused and stunned , sat thinking over the melancholy story he had related , and sorrowing over the misfortunes of one whose lot in life had been far sadder than my own . Some minutes before noon we entered the Place du Carrousel , now thronged with equipages and led horses . Officers in the rich uniforms of every arm of the service were pressing their way to the Palace , amid the crash of carriages , the buzz of recognitions , and the thundering sounds of the brass band , whose echo was redoubled beneath the vaulted vestibule of the Palace . Borne along with the torrent , we mounted the wide stair and passed from room to room , until we arrived at the great antechamber where the officers of the household were assembled in their splendid dresses . Here the crowd was so dense we were unable to move on for some time , and it was after nearly an hour 's waiting that we at last found ourselves within that gorgeous gallery named by the Emperor `` La Salle des Maréchaux . ''