eight o'clock in the morning
A few tufts of cloud were slowly rising from the depths of the streamlets which furrowed it ; and yonder , in the west , a great curtain of black mountains , on whose summits the snow still gleamed white , shut it in abruptly , casting across it a great mantle of shadow . In spite of this shadow , the eyes of the travellers who knew the region could distinguish in the very edge of the black curtain the spire of the proud tower of the cathedral of * * * . The prisoners and their guards reached the plain , and crossed the valley from one end to the other , expending much time in the transit , principally because of the care required by the wounded . Finally , at eight o'clock in the morning , they reached the first houses of the suburb of * * * . The inhabitants of the capital had heard of the sudden blow struck by the military governor against the Carlists of Nieva , and a great throng , collected in the streets , was impatiently waiting to see the prisoners pass by . It was composed almost entirely of what , during the revolutionary period , was called the sovereign people ; that is , of all the ragamuffins and rough-scuff of the city , together with quite a number of respectable people , though loungers , and almost all the _ ladies _ of the suburbs . On seeing the band from afar , the multitude was stirred tempestuously , and there arose a dull , universal clamor : -- `` There they are now !