noon
Had there been no other , it would have been enough to sit and witness the happiness of Calpurnius and Fausta . But there have been and are other sources of satisfaction as you will not doubt . We have now leisure to converse at such length as we please upon a thousand subjects which interest us . Seated upon the rocks at nightfall , or upon the lofty battlements of the tower , or at hot noon reclining beneath the shade of the terebinth or palm , we have tasted once again the calm delights we experienced at the Queen 's mountain palace . In this manner have we heard from Calpurnius accounts every way instructive and entertaining of his life while in Persia ; of the character and acts of Sapor ; of the condition of that empire , and its wide-spread population . Nothing seems to have escaped his notice and investigation . At these times and places too do I amuse and enlighten the circle around me by reading such portions of your letters and of Portia 's as relate to matters generally interesting -- and thus too do we discuss the times , and speculate upon the events with which the future labors in relation to Palmyra .