midnight
I must be careful of my cookery . To-morrow , in the absence of facts , I will see what I can do in the way of condiments ; _ et alors , en route pour Cythère _ . '' So mused Mr. Maule ; then , having reached the end of his tether , he turned back again in the direction of his home . The next morning , however , the plan of campaign which he had been devising was not a whit more tangible to him than it had been during his midnight stroll . He drank some coffee hopefully , and tried to lose himself in a damp copy of the _ Times _ . But in vain . The coffee brought him no comfort , and through the columns of the paper came the sultriness of Eden 's eyes .