midnight
` As quiet as a watching cat , ' replied Vincente . ` What lot is mine Whose foresight preaches peace , my heart so slow To feel it ! ' THROUGH these quiet streets the party clattered noisily enough , for the rain had left the rounded stones slippery , and the horses were too tired for a sure step . There were no lights at the street corners , for all had been extinguished at midnight , and the only glimmer of a lamp that relieved the darkness was shining through the stained-glass windows of the Cathedral , where the sacred oil burnt night and day . The Queen was evidently expected at the Casa del Ayuntamiento , for at the approach of the carriage the great doors were thrown open and a number of servants appeared in the patio , which was but dimly lighted . By the General 's orders the small body-guard passed through the doors , which were then closed , instead of continuing their way to the barracks in the Alcazar . This Casa del Ayuntamiento stands , as many travellers know , in the Plaza of the same name , and faces the Cathedral , which is without doubt the oldest , as it assuredly is the most beautiful , church in the world .