ten o'clock
It was little Rose who had told him of the occurrences of the morning at the Sous-Prefecture ; the girl had come hastening through the streets , now somewhat less choked than they had been , to obtain a supply of bread from an aunt of hers who kept a baker 's shop in the quarter ; it was striking nine o'clock . As early as eight General de Wimpffen had convened another council of war , consisting of more than thirty generals , to whom he related the results that had been reached so far , the hard conditions imposed by the victorious foe , and his own fruitless efforts to secure a mitigation of them . His emotion was such that his hands shook like a leaf , his eyes were suffused with tears . He was still addressing the assemblage when a colonel of the German staff presented himself , on behalf of General von Moltke , to remind them that , unless a decision were arrived at by ten o'clock , their guns would open fire on the city of Sedan . With this horrible alternative before them the council could do nothing save authorize the general to proceed once more to the Chateau of Bellevue and accept the terms of the victors . He must have accomplished his mission by that time , and the entire French army were prisoners of war . When she had concluded her narrative Rose launched out into a detailed account of the tremendous excitement the tidings had produced in the city .