ten
o'clock
All present laughed . The Queen followed her with her eyes , smiled , presented her hand for the Polish ambassador to kiss , and retired to write a letter . One night , before Perpignan , a very unusual event took place . It was ten o'clock ; and all were asleep . The slow and almost suspended operations of the siege had rendered the camp and the town inactive . The Spaniards troubled themselves little about the French , all communication toward Catalonia being open as in time of peace ; and in the French army men 's minds were agitated with that secret anxiety which precedes great events . Yet all was calm ; no sound was heard but that of the measured tread of the sentries .