noon
`` I was born , '' she said , `` in the same land as Virginia -LRB- for the poet 's fancy has given a real birthplace to his dream -RRB- , in an island of the tropics . You may have guessed it from the color of my hair , and from my complexion , which is paler than that of European women . You must have perceived , too , the accent which still lingers on my lips . In truth , I rather wish to preserve that accent as my only memento of my native land ; it recalls to my mind the plaintive and harmonious sounds of the sea-breeze that are heard at noon beneath the lofty palms . You may also have noticed that incorrigible indolence of walk and attitude , so different from the vivacity of French women , which indicates in the Creole a wild and natural frankness that knows not how to feign or to dissemble . `` My family name is D -- , and my own is Julie . My mother was lost in a boat in attempting to leave our native island during an insurrection of the blacks .