Ten minutes past eight
Such was the modesty of its course that a little brighter green and fresher grass a few feet away from it were the only indications of its presence . Nothing was wanting to make this an idyllic place for a rendezvous , neither the protecting shade , the warbling of birds in the trees , the picturesque landscape surrounding it , nor the soft grass . After dismounting from his steed and tying him to the branches of an oak , thus conforming to the time-honored custom of lovers , the cavalier struck his foot upon the ground three or four times to start the circulation in his legs , and then drew from his pocket a very pretty Breguet watch . `` Ten minutes past eight , '' said he ; `` I am late and yet I am early . It looks as if the clocks at La Fauconnerie were not very well regulated . '' He walked up and down with a quick step whistling with a vengeance : `` Quand je quittai la Normandie J'attends -- j' attends -- '' a refrain which the occasion brought to his mind . When this pastime was exhausted he had recourse to another , the nature of which proved that if the expected beauty had not punctuality for a virtue , she was not one of those little exacting creatures always ready to faint or whose delicate nerves make them intolerant of their lovers ' imperfections .