four o'clock
In less than half an hour I was ready for the journey , spurred and booted , with my rapier at my side , and in the pocket of my haut-dechausses a purse containing some fifty pistoles -- best part of which I had won from Vilmorin at lansquenet some nights before , and which moderate sum represented all the moneys that I possessed . Our horses were ready , my pistols holstered , and my valise strapped to Michelot 's saddle . Despite the desperate outlook of my fortunes , of which I had made him fully cognisant , he insisted upon clinging to me , reminding me that at Rocroi I had saved his life and that he would leave me only when I bade him go . As four o'clock was striking at Nôtre Dame we crossed the Pont Neuf , and going by the Quai des Augustins and the Rue de la Harpe , we quitted Paris by the St. Michel Gate and took the road to Choisy . The rain had ceased , but the air was keen and cold , and the wind cut like a sword-edge . Twixt Paris and Choisy there lies but a distance of some two leagues , which , given a fair horse , one may cover with ease in little more than half an hour . So that as the twilight was deepening into night we drew rein before the hostelry of the Connétable , in the only square the little township boasts , and from the landlord I had that obsequious reception which is ever accorded to him who travels with a body-servant .