noon
All night I rode despite that weather 's foulness -- a foulness that might have given pause to one whose haste to bear a letter was less attuned to his own supreme desires . Betimes next morning I paused at a small locanda on the road to Magliano , and there I broke my fast and took some rest . My horse had suffered by the journey more than had I , and I would have taken a fresh one at Magliano , but there was none to be had -- so they told me -- this side of Narni , wherefore I was forced to set out once more upon that poor jaded beast that had carried me all night . It was high noon when I came , at last , to Narni , the last league of the journey accomplished at a walk , for my nag could go no faster . Here I paused to dine , but here , again , they told me that no horses might be had . And so , leading by the bridle the animal I dared no longer ride , lest I should kill it outright , I entered the territory of Urbino on foot , and trudged wearily amain through the snow that was some inches deep by now . In this miserable fashion I covered the seven leagues , or so , to Spoleto , where I arrived exhausted as night was falling .