midnight
She dreaded the mood in which she would leave the banquet . For months past Cleopatra had returned from the revels of the `` Comrades of Death '' saddened to tears , or in a blaze of indignation . How must this last banquet , which began so mournfully and continued with such reckless mirth , affect her ? At last , the second hour after midnight , Cleopatra appeared . Charmian believed that she must be the sport of some delusion , for the Queen 's eyes which , when she had left her , were full of tears , now sparkled with the radiant light of joy and , as her friend took the crown from her head , she exclaimed : `` Why did you depart from the banquet so early ? Perhaps it was the last , but I remember no festival more brilliant . It was like the springtime of my love .