midnight
The great bronze portals of the Cathedral , which were never opened save on occasions of state , swung slowly inward , pouring a wave of music and incense out upon the hushed sunlit square ; then they closed again , engulphing the brilliant procession -- the Duke , the Bishop , the clergy and the court -- and leaving the populace to scatter in search of the diversions prepared for them at every street-corner . It was not till late that night that the new Duke found himself alone . He had withdrawn at last from the torch-lit balcony overlooking the square , whither the shouts of his subjects had persistently recalled him . Silence was falling on the illuminated streets , and the dimness of midnight upon the sky through which rocket after rocket had torn its brilliant furrows . In the palace a profounder stillness reigned . Since his accession Odo , out of respect for the late Duke , had lodged in one of the wings of the great building ; but tradition demanded that he should henceforth inhabit the ducal apartments , and thither , at the close of the day 's ceremonies , his gentlemen had conducted him . Trescorre had asked permission to wait on him before he slept ; and he knew that the prime minister would be kept late by his conference with the secret police , whose nightly report could not be handed in till the festivities were over .