eleven o'clock in the evening
`` Long live the Queen ! '' cried they all , with one voice . The Bacchanal Queen , having Sleepinbuff and Rose-Pompon opposite her , and Ninny Moulin on her right hand , presided at the repast , called a reveille-matin -LRB- wake-morning -RRB- , generously offered by Jacques to his companions in pleasure . Both young men and girls seemed to have forgotten the fatigues of a ball , begun at eleven o'clock in the evening , and finished at six in the morning ; and all these couples , joyous as they were amorous and indefatigable , laughed , ate , and drank , with youthful and Pantagruelian ardor , so that , during the first part of the feast , there was less chatter than clatter of plates and glasses . The Bacchanal Queen 's countenance was less gay , but much more animated than usual ; her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes announced a feverish excitement ; she wished to drown reflection , cost what it might . Her conversation with her sister often recurred to her , and she tried to escape from such sad remembrances . Jacques regarded Cephyse from time to time with passionate adoration ; for , thanks to the singular conformity of character , mind , and taste between him and the Bacchanal Queen , their attachment had deeper and stronger roots than generally belong to ephemeral connections founded upon pleasure .