five in the
afternoon
` And there is one more settled ! ' he added to himself as he left Beaudenord . `` While Rastignac was manoeuvring thus in Paris , imagine the state of things on the Bourse . A friend of mine , a provincial , a stupid creature , once asked me as we came past the Bourse between four and five in the afternoon what all that crowd of chatterers was doing , what they could possibly find to say to each other , and why they were wandering to and fro when business in public securities was over for the day . ` My friend , ' said I , ` they have made their meal , and now they are digesting it ; while they digest it , they gossip about their neighbors , or there would be no commercial security in Paris . Concerns are floated here , such and such a man -- Palma , for instance , who is something the same here as Sinard at the Academie Royale des Sciences -- Palma says , `` let the speculation be made ! '' and the speculation is made .