noon
This done , he stepped forth into the portico . The skies were serene and clear ; but he , deeply read in the signs of their various change , beheld in one mass of cloud , far on the horizon , which the wind began slowly to agitate , that a storm was brooding above . ` It is like my vengeance , ' said he , as he gazed ; ` the sky is clear , but the cloud moves on . ' IT was when the heats of noon died gradually away from the earth , that Glaucus and Ione went forth to enjoy the cooled and grateful air . At that time , various carriages were in use among the Romans ; the one most used by the richer citizens , when they required no companion in their excursion , was the biga , already described in the early portion of this work ; that appropriated to the matrons , was termed carpentum , which had commonly two wheels ; the ancients used also a sort of litter , a vast sedan-chair , more commodiously arranged than the modern , inasmuch as the occupant thereof could lie down at ease , instead of being perpendicularly and stiffly jostled up and down . There was another carriage , used both for travelling and for excursions in the country ; it was commodious , containing three or four persons with ease , having a covering which could be raised at pleasure ; and , in short , answering very much the purpose of -LRB- though very different in shape from -RRB- the modern britska . It was a vehicle of this description that the lovers , accompanied by one female slave of Ione , now used in their excursion .