midnight
Then Ben-Hur answered the messenger . `` Say to her who sent you that I , Ben-Hur , will see her at the palace of Idernee , wherever that may be , to-morrow at noon . '' The lad arose , and , with silent salute , departed . At midnight Ilderim took the road , having arranged to leave a horse and a guide for Ben-Hur , who was to follow him . Going next day to fill his appointment with Iras , Ben-Hur turned from the Omphalus , which was in the heart of the city , into the Colonnade of Herod , and came shortly to the palace of Idernee . From the street he passed first into a vestibule , on the sides of which were stairways under cover , leading up to a portico . Winged lions sat by the stairs ; in the middle there was a gigantic ibis spouting water over the floor ; the lions , ibis , walls , and floor were reminders of the Egyptians : everything , even the balustrading of the stairs , was of massive gray stone .