midnight
A painter had laid heaven open ; he beheld the Virgin Mary wrapped in a golden cloud among the angels , shining more brightly than the sun , receiving the prayers of sufferers , on whom this second Eve Regenerate smiles pityingly . At the touch of a mosaic , made of various lavas from Vesuvius and Etna , his fancy fled to the hot tawny south of Italy . He was present at Borgia 's orgies , he roved among the Abruzzi , sought for Italian love intrigues , grew ardent over pale faces and dark , almond-shaped eyes . He shivered over midnight adventures , cut short by the cool thrust of a jealous blade , as he saw a mediaeval dagger with a hilt wrought like lace , and spots of rust like splashes of blood upon it . India and its religions took the shape of the idol with his peaked cap of fantastic form , with little bells , clad in silk and gold . Close by , a mat , as pretty as the bayadere who once lay upon it , still gave out a faint scent of sandal wood . His fancy was stirred by a goggle-eyed Chinese monster , with mouth awry and twisted limbs , the invention of a people who , grown weary of the monotony of beauty , found an indescribable pleasure in an infinite variety of ugliness .