eight o’clock before noon
No part could have been played with more skill , or with greater knowledge of his character whom he addressed . He said just enough to set him thinking , and to give a bias and a colour to his thoughts , without giving him reason to suspect that he had any interest in the matter ; and he had withdrawn himself in that careless and half contemptuous manner , which naturally led the young man to wish for a renewal of the subject . And in fact Paul , while walking down the hill , toward the house of the Consul , was busied in wondering why Cataline had left so much unsaid , departing so abruptly ; and in debating with himself upon the strange doctrines which he had then for the first time heard broached . It was about the second hour of the Roman day , corresponding nearly to eight o'clock before noon -- as the winter solstice was now passed -- when Arvina reached the magnificent dwelling of the Consul in the Carinæ at the angle of the Cærolian place , hard by the foot of the Sacred Way . This splendid building occupied a whole _ insula _ , as it was called , or space between four streets , intersecting each other at right angles ; and was three stories in height , the two upper supported by columns of marble , with a long range of glass windows , at that period an unusual and expensive luxury . The doors stood wide open ; and on either hand the vestibule were arranged the lictors leaning upon their fasces , while the whole space of the great Corinthian hall within , lighted from above , and adorned with vast black pillars of Lucullean marble , was crowded with the white robes of the consul 's plebeian clients tendering their morning salutations ; not unmixed with the crimson fringes and broad crimson facings of senatorial visitors . Many were there with gifts of all kinds ; countrymen from his Sabine farm and his Tusculan retreat , some bringing lambs ; some cages full of doves ; cheeses , and bowls of fragrant honey ; and robes of fine white linen the produce of their daughters ' looms ; for whom perchance they were seeking dowers at the munificence of their noble patron ; artizans of the city , with toys or pieces of furniture , lamps , writing cases , cups or vases of rich workmanship ; courtiers with manuscripts rarely illuminated , the work of their most valuable slaves ; travellers with gems , and bronzes , offerings known to be esteemed beyond all others by the high-minded lover of the arts , and unrivalled scholar , to whom they were presented .