Twelve
o’clock
Where was that path to lead him to ? to what occupation should he now be drawn ? He had been for two hours absorbed in such reflections when Manon , the only servant of the house , knocked at his door to tell him that the second breakfast was served and the family were waiting for him . Twelve o'clock was striking . The new lodger went down at once , stirred by a wish to see and judge the five persons among whom his life was in future to be spent . When he entered the room he found all the inmates of the house standing ; they were dressed precisely as they were on the day when he came to make his first inquiries . `` Did you sleep well ? ''