midday
cried Rose Thévenin , raising her beautiful eyes to heaven in indignant protest . `` The players of the Théâtre de la Nation are aristocrats , and the _ citoyen _ François ' piece tends to make men regret the privileges of the noblesse . '' `` Gentlemen , '' said Rose Thévenin , `` have you patience to listen only to those who flatter you ? '' As midday approached everybody began to feel pangs of hunger and the little band marched back to the inn . Évariste walked beside Élodie , smilingly recalling memories of their first meetings : `` Two young birds had fallen out of their nests on the roof on to the sill of your window . You brought the little creatures up by hand ; one of them lived and in due time flew away . The other died in the nest of cotton-wool you had made him .