eight o'clock
Sure , she 'll cry a little , and then marry a Spaniard . '' The night was one of the gloomiest . In the houses the rosary was recited and pious women dedicated paternosters and requiems to each of the souls of their relatives and friends . By eight o'clock hardly a pedestrian could be seen -- only from time to time was heard the galloping of a horse against whose sides a saber clanked noisily , then the whistles of the watchmen , and carriages that whirled along at full speed , as though pursued by mobs of filibusters . Yet terror did not reign everywhere . In the house of the silversmith , where Placido Penitente boarded , the events were commented upon and discussed with some freedom . `` I do n't believe in the pasquinades , '' declared a workman , lank and withered from operating the blowpipe .