four o'clock in the morning
Such a crowd of candidates presented themselves that a fleet of ships could hardly have held them . Candide being desirous of selecting from among the best , marked out about one-twentieth of them who seemed to be sociable men , and who all pretended to merit his preference . He assembled them at his inn , and gave them a supper on condition that each took an oath to relate his history faithfully , promising to choose him who appeared to be most justly discontented with his state , and to bestow some presents upon the rest . They sat until four o'clock in the morning . Candide , in listening to all their adventures , was reminded of what the old woman had said to him in their voyage to Buenos Ayres , and of her wager that there was not a person on board the ship but had met with very great misfortunes . He dreamed of Pangloss at every adventure told to him . `` This Pangloss , '' said he , `` would be puzzled to demonstrate his system .