ten o’clock
Calyste left Les Touches the victim of one of those depressions of love which threaten , in certain men , to turn into madness . He began to revolve in his mind some decided means of coming to an explanation with Beatrix . When Calyste reached home , he did not leave his room until dinner time ; and after dinner he went back to it . At ten o'clock his mother , uneasy at his absence , went to look for him , and found him writing in the midst of a pile of blotted and half-torn paper . He was writing to Beatrix , for distrust of Camille had come into his mind . The air and manner of the marquise during their brief interview in the garden had singularly encouraged him . No first love-letter ever was or ever will be , as may readily be supposed , a brilliant effort of the mind .