text:  It was pleasant certainly in those sombre apartments and beneath those thick awnings which excluded each ray of sun although they did not prevent what little breeze there was from circulating freely between the heavy stone balustrades or quaintly moulded iron-work of the spacious balconies rustling the leaves and blossoms of the orange-trees and wafting their fragrance to the languid beauties who sat dozing chatting or love-making within