ten o'clock
Sleep did not visit Henriette 's eyes that night . She knew her husband to be a prudent man , but the thought that he was in Bazeilles , so near the German lines , was cause to her of deep anxiety . She tried to soothe her apprehensions by reminding herself that she had his solemn promise to return at the first appearance of danger ; it availed not , and at every instant she detected herself listening to catch the sound of his footstep on the stair . At ten o'clock , as she was about to go to bed , she opened her window , and resting her elbows on the sill , gazed out into the night . The darkness was intense ; looking downward , she could scarce discern the pavement of the Rue des Voyards , a narrow , obscure passage , overhung by old frowning mansions . Further on , in the direction of the college , a smoky street lamp burned dimly . A nitrous exhalation rose from the street ; the squall of a vagrant cat ; the heavy step of a belated soldier .