nearly five o’clock in the afternoon
This ardent , continuous effort , this will-tension kept in his mind the warmth , animation , and excitement indispensable for poetical production . His mind expanded rapidly , ready to receive the germs that were blown to him by the mysterious winds of inspiration . At times he was astonished to see his pen fill the sheet so rapidly that he would stop , filled with pride at having thus reduced to obedience words and rhythms , and would ask himself what supernatural power had permitted him to arm these divine wild birds . On Sundays , he had his meals brought him by the concierge , working all day and not going out until nearly five o'clock in the afternoon , to dine with Mamma Gerard . It was the only distraction that he allowed himself , or rather the only recompense that he permitted himself . He walked halfway across Paris to buy a cake in the Rue Fontaine for their dessert ; then he climbed without fatigue , thanks to his young legs , to the top of Montmartre , lighted by swinging lamps , where one could almost believe one 's self in the distant corner of some province . They would be waiting for him to serve the soup , and the young man would seat himself between the widow and the two orphans .