eight o'clock in the morning
`` I live in a palace where there is a porter , '' answered the old man , assuming the overpowering manner that belongs to the retainers of really great old Roman houses . `` Please inform the Baron that the ` lost water ' has broken out and flooded the cellars of the Palazzo Conti , and that I am waiting for instructions . '' Volterra went to bed early , but he did not rise late , for he was always busy , and had many interests that needed constant attention ; and he had preserved the habits of a man who had enriched himself and succeeded in life by being wide awake and at work when other people were napping or amusing themselves . At eight o'clock in the morning , he was already in his study , reading his letters , and waiting for his secretary . He sent for the porter , listened to his story attentively , and without expressing any opinion about what had happened , went directly to the palace in the cab which had brought the old man . He made the latter sit beside him , because it would be an excellent opportunity of showing the world that he was truly democratic . Half of Rome knew him by sight at least , though not one in twenty thousand could have defined his political opinions .