one o'clock in the morning
A consummate tactician , she succeeded , before a quarter of an hour had gone by , in putting me at my ease , and in drawing from me everything that I had to tell -- all my past ; all my prospects for the future ; the name and condition of my father ; a description of Saxonholme , and the very date of my birth . Then she criticized all the ladies in the room , which only drew my attention more admiringly upon herself ; and she quizzed all the young men , whereby I felt indirectly flattered , without exactly knowing why ; and she praised Dalrymple in terms for which I could have embraced her on the spot had she been ten times less pretty , and ten times less fascinating . I was an easy victim , after all , and scarcely worth the powder and shot of an experienced _ franc-tireur ; _ but Madame de Marignan , according to her own confession , had a taste for civilizing `` handsome boys , '' and as I may , perhaps , have come under that category a good many years ago , the little victory amused her ! By the time , at all events , that Dalrymple returned to tell me it was past one o'clock in the morning , and I must be introduced to the mistress of the house before leaving , my head was as completely turned as that of old Time himself . `` Past one ! '' I exclaimed . `` Impossible !