four o'clock in the afternoon
Was she a fair , young , blue-eyed daughter of Eve ? No ; she was an exquisite statue of the Muse of Astronomy , chiselled by Pradier in the days of the Empire . She stood on the mantelpiece in the study of the famous mathematician , Le Verrier , who directed the Paris Observatory , where I was working . At four o'clock in the afternoon my illustrious chief used to depart , and I would then steal into his room and sit down before Urania and dream of lovelier worlds than ours , hidden in the infinite spaces of the starry sky . Sometimes my friend and companion in studies , Georges Spero , would come and sit beside me ; and , inspired by the immortal beauty of Urania , we would let our young and ardent imaginations play over the glories and wonders of the heavens . `` You will be too late for Jupiter , '' said Le Verrier , entering unexpectedly one evening , and catching me in an attitude of adoration before Urania . `` I am afraid you are more of a poet than an astronomer . ''