midnight
Presently I heard a loud outcry and scuffling of feet above , and a shouted word of command . The soldiers instantly rushed up the stairs . But no speed of theirs could equal that with which I darted from my hiding-place and out at the open door into the street , thanking Heaven that whatever rats might be caught that night in the Rue d'Agnes I was not one of them . It was midnight when I got clear of the Auberge `` a l'Irlandois '' in the Rue d'Agnes , and being a fine , warm autumn night I was by no means the only occupant of the street . This was fortunate for me , for the guards posted at either end would have been more inquisitive as to a solitary stranger than one of a company of noisy idlers . That night there had been a great performance in one of the theatres in Paris , which had lasted far into the night , and was only lately over . Those I overheard speak of it said it had been a great patriotic spectacle , in the course of which National Guards and cadets had marched across the stage , unfurling the banner of the Republic , and taking the oath of the people amid scenes of wild enthusiasm and shouting .