There is indeed another custom, which i cannot altogether approve of: when the king has a mind to put any of his nobles to death in a gentle indulgent manner, he commands to have the floor strewn with a certain brown powder of a deadly composition, which being licked up, infallibly kills him in twenty-four hours.

which setting does the passage above indicate?

the moments between meals in the king’s home

a peaceful afternoon at the home of a noble

the time of execution in the king’s palace

a calm day at a dirt-covered park