four to seven o’clock
BOOK 1 . When Crozat , the Bohemian , escaped from poverty , by a good marriage that made him a citizen of the Rue de Vaugirard , he did not break with his old comrades ; instead of shunning them , or keeping them at a distance , he took pleasure in gathering them about him , glad to open his house to them , the comforts of which were very different from the attic of the Rue Ganneron , that he had occupied for so long a time . Every Wednesday , from four to seven o'clock , he had a reunion at his house , the Hotel des Medicis , and it was a holiday for which his friends prepared themselves . When a new idea occurred to one of the habitues it was caressed , matured , studied in solitude , in order to be presented in full bloom at the assembly . Crozat 's reception of his friends was pleasing , simple , like the man , cordial on the part of the husband , as well as on the part of the wife , who , having been an actress , held to the religion of comradeship : On a table were small pitchers of beer and glasses ; within reach was an old stone jar from Beauvais , full of tobacco . The beer was good , the tobacco dry , and the glasses were never empty .