At last they had to cross the large, open dining-hall.

This led into the viridarium, a spacious quadrangle, paved at the edges and planted in the middle, where a fountain played; round this square the Governor's residence was built.
All was still and peaceful in this secluded space, vaulted over by the high heavens whose deep blue was thickly dotted with stars.

The moon would soon be hidden behind the top of the cornice which crowned the roof of the building.

The large-leaved plants in the middle of the quadrangle threw strange, ghostly shadows on the dewy grass-plot; the water in the fountain splashed more loudly than by day, but with a soothing, monotonous gurgle, broken now and then by a sudden short pause.

The marble pillars gleamed as white as snow, and filmy mists, which were beginning to rise from the damp lawn, floated languidly hither and thither on the soft night breeze, like ghosts veiled in flowing crape.