About
midnight
Ah ! he knew what he was about , that officer did , who wanted to keep the folks in Paris from getting wind of matters ! '' He went on for a long time in broken , disjointed phrases , and when he had finished the young man , speechless , brokenhearted , saw it all . About midnight the Emperor had received a dispatch from the Minister of War in reply to the one that had been sent by the marshal . Its exact terms were not known , but an aide-de-camp at the Hotel de Ville had stated openly that the Empress and the Council declared there would be a revolution in Paris should the Emperor retrace his steps and abandon Bazaine . The dispatch , which evinced the utmost ignorance as to the position of the German armies and the resources of the army of Chalons , advised , or rather ordered , an immediate forward movement , regardless of all considerations , in spite of everything , with a heat and fury that seemed incredible . `` The Emperor sent for the marshal , '' added the apothecary , `` and they were closeted together for near an hour ; of course I am not in position to say what passed between them , but I am told by all the officers that there is to be no more retreating , and the advance to the Meuse is to be resumed at once .