four o’clock
Everything lay prostrated under the awful blow of that battle in the street . Feodor said , ` Ah , they give me a wide berth ; they do not know how much I love them , '' and all through that promenade he said many more charming and delicate things to me . `` As we were talking pleasantly under our furs we came to la Place Koudrinsky , la rue Koudrinsky , to be exact . It was just four o'clock , and a light mist had commenced to mix with the sifting snow , and the houses to right and left were visible only as masses of shadow . We glided over the snow like a boat along the river in foggy calm . Then , suddenly , we heard piercing cries and saw shadows of soldiers rushing around , with movements that looked larger than human through the mist ; their short whips looked enormous as they knocked some other shadows that we saw down like logs . The general stopped the sleigh and got out to see what was going on .