midday
She evidently regarded the washing-tub as a desirable piece of furniture , and was not even conscious that the act of `` soaping in , '' was an unromantic occupation ! Such was the severity of this first blow that I pleaded an engagement , presented my offerings -LRB- how dreadfully inappropriate they seemed ! -RRB- , and hurried away to a lecture on _ materia medica _ at the _ École Pratique _ ; that being a good , congenial , dismal entertainment for the evening ! Sunday came with the sunrise , and at midday , true as the clock of St. Eustache , I knocked once more at the door of the _ mansarde _ where my Josephine dwelt . This time , my visit being anticipated , I found her dressed to receive me . She looked more fresh and charming than ever ; and the lilac muslin which I had seen in the washing-tub some eighteen or twenty hours before , became her to perfection . So did her pretty green shawl , pinned closely at the throat and worn as only a French-woman would have known how to wear it .