September midday
A great peace seemed to emanate from those aerie ruins , and a deep silence reigned there . The dinners given by the old priest , to which several of the notabilities of the neighborhood were invited , always lasted very long . The ten or fifteen courses had an accompaniment of the ripest fruits and the choicest wines of that country so excelling in exquisite vintages . For several hours we remained at the table afflicted by the August or September midday heat , and I , the only child in the company , became very restless ; I was disturbed by the thought of the crushing nearness of the castle , and after the second course I would ask to be permitted to leave the table . An old serving-woman used always to go with me and open the outer door in the wall of the feudal ramparts of Castelnau ; then she confided the keys of the stately ruin to me , and I plunged alone , with a delicious feeling of fear , into the familiar path , and passed through the gate of the drawbridge superposed on the ramparts . There I might remain for an hour or two sure of not being disturbed ; I was at liberty to wander about in that labyrinth , and I was master in the majestic but sad domain . Oh !