noon
Then the witch said : ` Be wise : the rose-coloured phial for Chios ; the azure for the Roman . ' But the azure one was the brewage of hell . There was great excitement in the city of Ephesus , so strong had the power of the Christians become . The story of the demoniac also filled the minds of the people , and a great crowd had gathered in the Agora , it being rumoured that converts to the new faith would at noon openly burn their mystic books and publicly renounce their magical rites . When the multitude of onlookers saw a vast concourse advancing , bearing symbols of the cross , all looked forward to unpleasant proceedings . As the Christians drew nigh in regular procession , many leading men and women were observed amongst them . They came on , singing hymns to their God and His Messiah , with heads uncovered in the presence of the sacred emblems .