about eight o'clock
Thursday evening was a time of great rejoicing with me whenever a terrible storm descended upon Limoise , and thus made it impossible for me to return home that night . It happened occasionally ; and since I had had the experience , I used to hope that it might occur often , and especially did I wish for a storm when I had failed to prepare my lessons . One inhuman professor had instituted Thursday tasks , and it was necessary for me to drag my text and copy-books with me to Limoise ; my beloved holidays , spent in the sweet open air , were overcast by their dark shadow . One evening at about eight o'clock the much desired storm broke upon us with superb fury . Lucette and I were in the large drawing-room that resounded with the noise of the thunder , and we felt none too safe there . Its great wall-spaces were broken by only two or three old engravings in ancient frames . Lucette , under her mother 's direction , was putting the finishing touches to a piece of needle work , and , on the rather worn-out piano , I was playing , with the soft pedal down , one of Rameau 's dances ; the old-fashioned music sounded exquisite to me as it mingled with the noise of the great thunder claps .