The guests were all gone.

Their departing mirth and joy had been smitten down by the drunkard's abusive words, like fresh young corn beneath a hail storm.

Rhodopis was left standing alone in the empty, brightly decorated (supper-room).

Knakias extinguished the colored lamps on the walls, and a dull, mysterious half-light took the place of their brilliant rays, falling scantily and gloomily on the piled-up plates and dishes, the remnants of the meal, and the seats and cushions, pushed out of their places by the retiring guests.

A cold breeze came through the open door, for the dawn was at hand, and just before sunrise, the air is generally unpleasantly cool in Egypt.