midnight
And he slept never so soundly . The Circus at Antioch stood on the south bank of the river , nearly opposite the island , differing in no respect from the plan of such buildings in general . In the purest sense , the games were a gift to the public ; consequently , everybody was free to attend ; and , vast as the holding capacity of the structure was , so fearful were the people , on this occasion , lest there should not be room for them , that , early the day before the opening of the exhibition , they took up all the vacant spaces in the vicinity , where their temporary shelter suggested an army in waiting . At midnight the entrances were thrown wide , and the rabble , surging in , occupied the quarters assigned to them , from which nothing less than an earthquake or an army with spears could have dislodged them . They dozed the night away on the benches , and breakfasted there ; and there the close of the exercises found them , patient and sight-hungry as in the beginning . The better people , their seats secured , began moving towards the Circus about the first hour of the morning , the noble and very rich among them distinguished by litters and retinues of liveried servants . By the second hour , the efflux from the city was a stream unbroken and innumerable .