the
sun at midday
-LCB- Endnote 15 -RCB- Overcome at so awe-inspiring a sight , the vast loveliness of which thrills the nerves like a glance from beauty 's eyes , you turn to the central golden altar , in the midst of which , though you can not see it now , there burns a pale but steady flame crowned with curls of faint blue smoke . It is of marble overlaid with pure gold , in shape round like the sun , four feet in height , and thirty-six in circumference . Here also , hinged to the foundations of the altar , are twelve petals of beaten gold . All night and , except at one hour , all day also , these petals are closed over the altar itself exactly as the petals of a water-lily close over the yellow crown in stormy weather ; but when the sun at midday pierces through the funnel in the dome and lights upon the golden flower , the petals open and reveal the hidden mystery , only to close again when the ray has passed . Nor is this all . Standing in semicircles at equal distances from each other on the north and south of the sacred place are ten golden angels , or female winged forms , exquisitely shaped and draped . These figures , which are slightly larger than life-size , stand with bent heads in an attitude of adoration , their faces shadowed by their wings , and are most imposing and of exceeding beauty .