an hour before noon
For eleven days the door was barred ; but Atossa did not again attempt to enter . Darius would have visited roughly such an offence , and she knew how delicate her position was . She resigned herself and occupied her mind with other things . Daily , an hour before noon , Nehushta swept proudly through the gate , and disappeared among the roses and myrtles of the garden ; and daily , precisely as the sun reached the meridian , the king went in between the spearmen , and disappeared in like manner . Darius had grown so suddenly stern and cold in manner towards the queen , that she dared not even mention the subject of the garden to him , fearing a sadden outburst of his anger , which would surely put an end to her existence in the court , and very likely to her life . As for Nehushta , she had plentiful cause for reflection and much time for dreaming . If the days were not happy , they were at least made bearable for her by the absolute liberty she enjoyed .