midnight
They meet together in order to quarrel . The majority of women prefer to sit and squabble round one table to seeking another room . They call it the domestic circle , and spend their time in straining at the family tie in order to prove its strength . It was Evasio Mon who , standing at the open window of his apartment in the tall house next door to the Posada de los Reyes on the Paseo del Ebro , had observed with the help of a field-glass , that a traveler was crossing the river by the ferry-boat after midnight . He noted the unusual proceeding with a tolerant shrug . It will be remembered that he closed his glasses with a smile -- not a smile of amusement or of contempt -- not even a deep smile such as people wear in books . It was merely a smile , and could not be construed into anything else by any physiognomist .