about ten o’clock
That speech naturally made the rounds of the salon , where every one exclaimed on the exquisite taste of the chevalier , the Prince de Talleyrand of the province . `` There 's no one like Monsieur de Valois for such wit . '' Du Bousquier went to look at himself in a little oblong mirror , placed above the `` Deserter , '' but he saw nothing strange in his appearance . After innumerable repetitions of the same text , varied in all keys , the departure of the company took place about ten o'clock , through the long antechamber , Mademoiselle Cormon conducting certain of her favorite guests to the portico . There the groups parted ; some followed the Bretagne road towards the chateau ; the others went in the direction of the river Sarthe . Then began the usual conversation , which for twenty years had echoed at that hour through this particular street of Alencon . It was invariably : -- `` Mademoiselle Cormon looked very well to-night . ''