eleven
o’clock
The apartment , furnished by the late Madame Cardot , had remained in the same condition for the last six years , -- the old man being perfectly contented with it . He spent in all not more than three thousand francs a year there ; for he dined in Paris five days in the week , and returned home at midnight in a hackney-coach , which belonged to an establishment at Courtille . The cook had only her master 's breakfast to provide on those days . This was served at eleven o'clock ; after that he dressed and perfumed himself , and departed for Paris . Usually , a bourgeois gives notice in the household if he dines out ; old Cardot , on the contrary , gave notice when he dined at home . This little old man -- fat , rosy , squat , and strong -- always looked , in popular speech , as if he had stepped from a bandbox . He appeared in black silk stockings , breeches of `` pou-de-soie '' -LRB- paduasoy -RRB- , a white pique waistcoat , dazzling shirt-front , a blue-bottle coat , violet silk gloves , gold buckles to his shoes and his breeches , and , lastly , a touch of powder and a little queue tied with black ribbon .