noon
Her cathedra was a high arm-chair which she never quitted but to be carried to her observatory on the roof of the house , where she kept her astrological tablets and manuscripts . The only weakness about her was in her feet ; but strong , and willing arms were always at her disposal to carry her about -- to table , into her sleeping-room , and during the daytime out to sunny spots in the garden . She was never so happy as when Helios warmed her back with his rays , for her old blood needed it after the long night-watches that she still would keep in her observatory . Even during the hottest noon she would sit in the sun , with a large green umbrella to shade her keen eyes , and those who desired to speak with her might find shade as best they could . As she stood , much bent , but propped on her ivory crutches , eagerly following every word of a conversation , she looked as though she were prepared at any moment to spring into the middle of it and interrupt the speaker . She always said exactly what she meant without reserve or ruth ; and throughout her long life , as the mistress of great wealth , she had always been allowed to have her own way . She asserted her rights even over her son , though he was the centre of a web whose threads reached to the furthest circumference of the known world .