midday
At the edge of the compound a group of natives peered through the fencing , watching and listening . Their dark faces expressed neither hatred nor admiration , nor sorrow , nor pleasure -- at most , a dull wonder . When they were tired of watching , they passed noiselessly on their way . The Royal apartment was prepared for the suffocating midday heat . Heavy hangings had been pulled across the door which led on to the balcony , and only at one small aperture the sunshine ventured to pierce through and dance its golden reflection hither and thither over the marble floor . The rest was hidden in the semi-obscurity of a starlit night , which , like a transparent veil , half conceals and half reveals an untold richness and splendor . At either side slender Moorish pillars rose to the lofty ceiling , and from their capitals winking points of light shimmered through the shadows .