seven o’clock
`` Twelve thousand humbugs . A fellow that will take five hundred francs from an old scarecrow he never met before is -- '' Rose broke off abruptly , for at that moment young Gandelu brought in his friends , and introduced them ; they were all of the same type as their host , and Andre was about to study them more intently , when a white-waistcoated waiter threw open the door , exclaiming pompously , `` Madame , the dinner is on the table . '' When Mascarin was asked what was the best way to achieve certain results , his invariable reply was , `` Keep moving , keep moving . '' He had one great advantage over other men , he put in practice the doctrines he preached , and at seven o'clock the morning after his interview with the Count de Mussidan he was hard at work in his room . A thick fog hung over the city , even penetrating into the office , which had begun to fill with clients . This crowd had but little interest for the head of the establishment , as it consisted chiefly of waiters from small eating houses , and cooks who knew little or nothing of what was going on in the houses where they were in service . Finding this to be the case , Mascarin handed them all over to Beaumarchef , and only occasionally nodded to the serviteur of some great family , who chanced to stroll in .