three o'clock
Absorbed in these , I followed the course of the Rue du Bac till I came to the Pont National . There my steps were arrested by the sight of the eddying river , the long gleaming front of the Louvre , the quaint , glistening gables of the Tuilleries , the far-reaching trees of the Champs Elysées all silvered in the soft , uncertain moonlight . It was a most calm and beautiful picture ; and I stood for a long time leaning against the parapet of the bridge , and looking dreamily at the scene before me . Then I heard the quarters chime from belfry to belfry all over the quiet city , and found that it was half-past three o'clock . Presently a patrol of _ gendarmes _ went by , and , finding that they paused and looked at me suspiciously , I turned away , and bent my steps homewards . By the time I reached the Cité Bergère it was past four , and the early market-carts were already rumbling along the Rue du Faubourg Montmartre . Going up wearily to my apartments , I found a note waiting for me in Dalrymple 's handwriting .