the noon sun
Did not our Commodore carry the sword of state by his side ? For though not borne before him , it must have been a sword of state , since it looked far to lustrous to have been his fighting sword . _ That _ was naught but a limber steel blade , with a plain , serviceable handle , like the handle of a slaughter-house knife . Who ever saw a star when the noon sun was in sight ? But you seldom see a king without satellites . In the suite of the youthful Emperor came a princely train ; so brilliant with gems , that they seemed just emerged from the mines of the Rio Belmonte . You have seen cones of crystallised salt ?