midnight
At the French opera-house he saw Paulina Durski for the first time . She was seated in one of the smaller boxes , dressed in pure white , with white camellias in her hair . Her faithful companion , Matilda Brewer , was seated in the shadow of the curtains , and formed a foil for the beautiful Austrian . Reginald Eversleigh entered the house with a dissipated and fashionable young Parisian -- a man who , like his companion , had wasted youth , character , and fortune in the tainted atmosphere of disreputable haunts and midnight assemblies . The two young men took their places in the stalls , and amused themselves between the acts by a scrutiny of the occupants of the house . Hector Leonce , the Parisian , was familiar with the inmates of every box . `` Do you see that beautiful , fair-haired woman , with the white camellias in her hair ? ''