midday
He went to bed early , for lack of evening entertainment , and rose late in the morning for lack of daily occupation . With what he termed `` the crapulous years , '' he had divested himself of his former associates and habits . Friends that would harmonise with his gloves and umbrella he had none as yet . If he ordered an _ apéritif _ before the midday meal , it was on the terrace of a café on the Boulevard Saint-Germain , where he sat devouring newspapers in awful solitude . Sometimes he took Blanquette for a sedate walk ; but no longer Blanquette _ en cheveux _ . He bought her a mystical headgear composed as far as I could see of three plums and a couple of feathers , which the girl wore with an air of happy martyrdom . He discoursed to her on the weather and the political situation .