noon
Do not touch me , spawn of Satan tool of the evil one ! or I will tread you under foot ! '' Retreat had been as impossible as progress , and long hours went by which to her seemed like days ; still she felt no fatigue , only alarm and disgust , and , more than anything else , an ardent desire to reach the Bishop 's palace and take counsel of a priest . It was long past noon when a diversion took place which served at any rate to interest and amuse the crying child . On the platform above the doorway Cynegius came forth -- Cynegius , the Emperor 's delegate ; a stout man of middle height , with a shrewd round head and a lawyer 's face . State dignitaries , Consuls and Prefects had , at this date , ceased to wear the costume that had marked the patricians of old Rome -- a woollen toga that fell in broad and dignified folds from the shoulders ; a long , close-fitting robe had taken its place , of purple silk brocade with gold flowers . On the envoy 's shoulder blazed the badge of the highest officials , a cruciform ornament of a peculiarly thick and costly tissue .