seven o'clock
I 'll also give you a dinner that you could n't order in an hour with Carême holding your hand . '' `` Ah , _ mon enfant _ , '' sighed Le Brux , folding his hands across his stomach , `` thou hast struck me below the belt . Thou knowest that my memory is not so short but what I will dine with thee . '' When at seven o'clock the three sat down at a table which , like everything else that came in contact with Le Brux , seemed a size too small , Leighton said to his guest : '' _ Maître _ , it has been my endeavor to provide to-night a single essence from each of the five great epochs of modern cookery . '' `` Yes , my child ? '' said Le Brux , gravely , but with an expectant gleam in his eye . `` In no branch of science , '' continued Leighton , `` have progress and innovation been so constantly associated as in gastronomy , and we shall consequently abandon the rule of the savants of the last generation and proceed from the light to the less light and then to the rich . ''