ten o'clock
said the Marquise , upon retiring to her apartments . Every one imitated her by being silent or speaking low . The day was sad , and in the evening the supper was silent at the chateau of Chaumont . At ten o'clock that evening , the old Marechal , conducted by his valet , retired to the northern tower near the gateway , and opposite the river . The heat was extreme ; he opened the window , and , enveloping himself in his great silk robe , placed a heavy candlestick upon the table and desired to be left alone . His window looked out upon the plain , which the moon , in her first quarter , indistinctly lighted ; the sky was charged with thick clouds , and all things disposed the mind to melancholy . Although Bassompierre had nothing of the dreamer in his character , the tone which the conversation had taken at dinner returned to his memory , and he reconsidered his life , the sad changes which the new reign had wrought in it , a reign which seemed to have breathed upon him a wind of misfortune -- the death of a cherished sister ; the irregularities of the heir of his name ; the loss of his lands and of his favor ; the recent fate of his friend , the Marechal d'Effiat , whose chambers he now occupied .