noon
Would that the elm had been hollow to its root , and beneath the root a chasm bottomless , and that Plutus in that Narbonne jar had served as a supper to Pluto in the shades ! Better had it been for thee , my Roger . But he had not hid it yet ; so , that night -- or rather that cold morning about six , the drenched , half-frozen Fortunatus carried it to bed with him : and a precious warming-pan it made : for nothing would satisfy the finder of its presence but perpetual bodily contact : -- accordingly , he placed it in his bosom , and it chilled him to the back-bone . Yes ; that was undoubtedly the safest way ; to carry the spoil about with him ; so , next noon -- how could he get up till noon after such a woful night ? -- next noon he emptied the jar , and tying up its contents in a handkerchief , proceeded to wear it as a girdle ; for an hour he clattered about the premises , making as much jingle as a wagoner 's team of bells ; laden heavily with gold , like the -LSB- Greek : ibebusto -RSB- genius in Herodotus : but he soon found out this would not do at all ; for , independently of all concealment at an end , so long as his secret store was rattling as he walked , louder than military spurs or sabre-tackle , he soberly reflected that he might -- possibly , possibly , though not probably -- get a glass too much again , by some mere accident or other ; and then to be robbed of his golden girdle , this cincture of all joy ! O , terrible thought ! as well -LSB- this is my fancy , not Rogers 's -RSB- deprive Venus of her zone , and see how the beggared Queen of Beauty could exist without her treasury , the Cestus .