about three in the
morning
`` It seems to me , '' said the princess , smiling , `` that from that point of view the present state of things under your regime leaves nothing to be desired . '' A well-bred laugh went round the room , and even the prime minister himself could not help smiling . The ambassadors seemed impatient for the tale ; de Marsay coughed dryly and silence was obtained . `` On a June night in 1800 , '' began the minister , `` about three in the morning , just as daylight was beginning to pale the brilliancy of the wax candles , two men tired of playing at _ bouillotte _ -LRB- or who were playing merely to keep others employed -RRB- left the salon of the ministry of foreign affairs , then situated in the rue du Bac , and went apart into a boudoir . These two men , of whom one is dead and the other has _ one _ foot in the grave , were , each in his own way , equally extraordinary . Both had been priests ; both had abjured religion ; both were married . One had been merely an Oratorian , the other had worn the mitre of a bishop .