midday
It was terribly cold ; my little window was covered with a sheet of frost . I had taken care the night before to lay out on the back of a chair my sky-blue coat , my trousers , my goat-skin vest , and my fine black silk cravat . Everything was ready ; my well-polished shoes lay at the foot of the bed ; I had only to dress myself ; but the cold I felt upon my face , the sight of those window-panes , and the deep silence without , made me shiver in anticipation . If it had not been Catharine 's birthday , I would have remained in bed until midday ; but suddenly that recollection made me jump out of bed , and rush to the great delf stove , where some embers of the preceding night almost always remained among the cinders . I found two or three , and hastened to collect and put them under some split wood and two large logs , after which I ran back to my bed . Monsieur Goulden , under the huge curtains , with the coverings pulled up to his nose and his cotton night-cap over his eyes , woke up , and cried out : `` Joseph , we have not had such cold for forty years . I never felt it so .