three o'clock in the
morning
`` A symphony in grey , '' said M. Charles succinctly . They came swiftly after this , without much comment from either , Eugene putting one canvas after another before him , leaving it for a few moments and replacing it with another . His estimate of his own work did not rise very rapidly , for M. Charles was persistently distant , but the latter could not help voicing approval of `` After The Theatre , '' a painting full of the wonder and bustle of a night crowd under sputtering electric lamps . He saw that Eugene had covered almost every phase of what might be called the dramatic spectacle in the public life of the city and much that did not appear dramatic until he touched it -- the empty canyon of Broadway at three o'clock in the morning ; a long line of giant milk wagons , swinging curious lanterns , coming up from the docks at four o'clock in the morning ; a plunging parade of fire vehicles , the engines steaming smoke , the people running or staring open-mouthed ; a crowd of polite society figures emerging from the opera ; the bread line ; an Italian boy throwing pigeons in the air from a basket on his arm in a crowded lower West-side street . Everything he touched seemed to have romance and beauty , and yet it was real and mostly grim and shabby . `` I congratulate you , Mr. Witla , '' finally exclaimed M. Charles , moved by the ability of the man and feeling that caution was no longer necessary . `` To me this is wonderful material , much more effective than the reproductions show , dramatic and true .