twelve o’clock in the morning
Monsieur Grindot confided to her one morning that there were two book-cases in Cesar 's room , which enclosed an alcove , -- an architectural surprise to her father . Cesarine flung all her girlish savings upon the counter of a bookseller 's shop , and obtained in return , Bossuet , Racine , Voltaire , Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Montesquieu , Moliere , Buffon , Fenelon , Delille , Bernardin de Saint-Pierre , La Fontaine , Corneille , Pascal , La Harpe , -- in short , the whole array of matter-of-course libraries to be found everywhere and which assuredly her father would never read . A terrible bill for binding was in the background . The celebrated and dilatory binder , Thouvenin , had promised to deliver the volumes at twelve o'clock in the morning of the 16th . Cesarine confided her anxiety to her uncle Pillerault , and he had promised to pay the bill . The `` surprise '' of Cesar to his wife was the gown of cherry-colored velvet , trimmed with lace , of which he spoke to his accomplice , Cesarine . The `` surprise '' of Madame Birotteau to the new chevalier was a pair of gold shoe-buckles , and a diamond pin .