five minutes to seven
`` On the other hand , it 's very unpleasant to think that poverty should not spare such elegant and pretty girls as Alice Osipovna , and that she , too , should have to struggle for existence . It 's a sad thing ! '' Having never seen virtuous Frenchwomen before , he reflected also that this elegantly dressed young lady with her well-developed shoulders and exaggeratedly small waist in all probability followed another calling as well as giving French lessons . The next evening when the clock pointed to five minutes to seven , Mdlle . Enquête appeared , rosy from the frost . She opened Margot , which she had brought with her , and without introduction began : `` French grammar has twenty-six letters . The first letter is called _ A _ , the second _ B _ ... '' `` Excuse me , '' Vorotov interrupted , smiling .