about four o'clock in the afternoon
Despite the world 's anguish and the besetting imminence of danger , life and the city which he inhabited had never seemed so enchanting , so lovely , as they did then . He hurried towards Cork Street , hopeful . At two periods of the day Marthe , with great effort and for professional purposes , achieved some degree of personal tidiness . The first period began at about four o'clock in the afternoon . By six o'clock or six-thirty she had slipped back into the sloven . The second period began at about ten o'clock at night . It was more brilliant while it lasted , but owing to the accentuation of Marthe 's characteristics by fatigue it seldom lasted more than an hour .