noon
For they heard me prompt my Mercurius , and they saw him appeal to me in a difficulty . Obviously , therefore , Henry was the servant of the chief magician , who like a great lord only communicated his pleasure through his steward . Then with a tale of Venice -LSB- 1 -RSB- that was new to them we scared them out of a year 's growth -- frightening ourselves also , for then we were but young . It was well that the time was not far from high noon . The story told in brief ran thus . It was the story of the `` Seven Dead Men . '' -LSB- Footnote 1 : For the origin of this and much else as profitable and pleasant , see Mr. Horatio Brown 's _ Life on the Lagoons _ , the most charming and characteristic of Venetian books . -RSB-