about five
o'clock
They were once young , and they learnt the lesson . This man , Cipriani de Lloseta , leads a somewhat lonely life , inasmuch as he associates but little with the men of his rank and station . It is , for instance , known that he walks on the Rambla , but no one of any importance whatever , no one that is likely to recognise him , is aware of the fact that another favourite promenade of his is the Muelle de Ponente , that forsaken pier where the stone works are and where no one ever promenades . Here Cipriani de Lloseta walks gravely in the evening -- to be more precise , on Tuesday or Friday evening -- about five o'clock , when the boat sails for Majorca . He stands , a lonely , cloaked figure , at the end of the long stone pier , and his dark Spanish eyes rest on the steamer as it glides away into the darkening east and south . Often , often this man watches the boats depart , but he never goes himself . Often , often he gazes out in his chastened , impenetrable silence over the horizon , as if seeking to pierce the distance and look on the bare heights of the far-off island .