seven in the evening
Remembering Monsieur Alain 's injunction to parsimony in his personal expenses , Godefroid dined for twenty-five sous in the rue de Tournon , and was rewarded for his abnegation by finding himself in the midst of compositors and pressmen . He heard a discussion on costs of manufacturing , and learned that an edition of one thousand copies of an octavo volume of forty sheets did not cost more than thirty sous a copy , in the best style of printing . He resolved to ascertain the price at which publishers of law books sold their volumes , so as to be prepared for a discussion with the men who held Monsieur Bernard in their clutches if he should have to meet them . Towards seven in the evening he returned to the boulevard du Mont-Parnasse , by way of the rue de Vaugiraud and the rue de l'Ouest , and he saw then how deserted the quarter was , for he met no one . It is true that the cold was rigorous , and the snow fell in great flakes , the wheels of the carriages making no noise upon the pavements . `` Ah , here you are , monsieur ! '' said Madame Vauthier .