midnight
The house was as quiet as death . They could hear the distant shouts of the men cutting down the trees in the garden , and the blows of the axes . The princess pushed open the door behind which the light was , and they found themselves in Axel 's study , where the candles he had lit in order to read Letty 's poem were still guttering and flaring in the draught from the open window . A clock on the writing-table showed that it was past midnight . The room looked very untidy and ill-cared for . `` A man without a wife , '' said the princess , gazing round at the litter , composed chiefly of cigar-ashes and old envelopes , `` is a truly miserable being . What condition can be more wretched than to be at the mercy of a Mamsell ?