about seven o'clock in the morning
Three months have elapsed since Djalma was thrown into Batavia Prison accused of belonging to the murderous gang of Megpunnas . The following scene takes place in France , at the commencement of the month of February , 1832 , in Cardoville Manor House , an old feudal habitation standing upon the tall cliffs of Picardy , not far from Saint Valery , a dangerous coast on which almost every year many ships are totally wrecked , being driven on shore by the northwesters , which render the navigation of the Channel so perilous . From the interior of the Castle is heard the howling of a violent tempest , which has arisen during the night ; a frequent formidable noise , like the discharge of artillery , thunders in the distance , and is repeated by the echoes of the shore ; it is the sea breaking with fury against the high rocks which are overlooked by the ancient Manor House . It is about seven o'clock in the morning . Daylight is not yet visible through the windows of a large room situated on the ground-floor . In this apartment , in which a lamp is burning , a woman of about sixty years of age , with a simple and honest countenance , dressed as a rich farmer 's wife of Picardy , is already occupied with her needle-work , notwithstanding the early hour . Close by , the husband of this woman , about the same age as herself , is seated at a large table , sorting and putting up in bags divers samples of wheat and oats .