midnight
The carriage was now announced , and the party left the mansion . Almost at the same instant the old mulatto was also turning away from the place , dazzled and amazed at what he had heard and seen , and still dreaming of the blessings showered on the name of Saint-Ramon by the guests of this peculiar fête . `` Half-past eleven , '' murmured the old man , as the hour struck from a distant steeple . `` I shall be there at midnight -- and what shall I learn ? Ah ! what anguish is mine ! '' And with a deep sigh he slowly began the ascent of the declivity , stretching along the Seine , to the Rue Chaillot .