eleven o'clock before
He made his way then , as we have seen , toward the Barriere des Sergents , passed up the Rue du Coq , crossed the Pont-Neuf , returned along the quay so far as the Rue Mazarine ; it was in the Rue Mazarine that the Abbe Chaulieu lived . The Abbe Chaulieu recognized Buvat , whose excellent qualities he had appreciated during their two years ' acquaintance , and with much pressing on his part , and many difficulties on Buvat 's , made him sit down near himself , before a table covered with papers . It is true that at first Buvat sat on the very edge of his chair ; gradually , however , he got further and further on -- put his hat on the ground -- took his cane between his legs , and found himself sitting almost like any one else . The work that there was to be done did not promise a short sitting ; there were thirty or forty poems on the table to be classified -- numbered , and , as the abbe 's servant was his amanuensis , corrected ; so that it was eleven o'clock before they thought that it had struck nine . They had just finished and Buvat rose , horrified at having to come home at such an hour . It was the first time such a thing had ever happened to him ; he rolled up the manuscript , tied it with a red ribbon , which had probably served as a sash to Mademoiselle de Launay , put it in his pocket , took his cane , picked up his hat , and left the house , abridging his leave-taking as much as possible . To add to his misfortunes there was no moonlight , the night was cloudy .