eight at
night
He allowed the head-clerks to converse privately about affairs of delicacy , but he listened to their gossip . From time to time he went to the Tuileries to get his cue . And he always waited for the minister 's return from the Chamber , if in session , to hear from him what intrigue or manoeuvre he was to set about . This official sybarite dressed , dined , and visited a dozen or fifteen salons between eight at night and three in the morning . At the opera he talked with journalists , for he stood high in their favor ; a perpetual exchange of little services went on between them ; he poured into their ears his misleading news and swallowed theirs ; he prevented them from attacking this or that minister on such or such a matter , on the plea that it would cause real pain to their wives or their mistresses . `` Say that his bill is worth nothing , and prove it if you can , but do not say that Mariette danced badly . The devil !