noon
The wax tapers which she herself had taken care to place around the deathbed were burning funereally , their crude yellow beams struggling with the languid light pouring into the room . No one dared to call her from her devout meditations ; those who penetrated into the dressing-room and saw her in that attitude , whispered a few words of surprise , and retired silently with emotion and admiration . Finally , all the outside people went away , and Maria shut herself in her room to take the rest which she so much needed , after the cruel series of changes and the great labors that she had undergone during the last few hours . At noon the father and his two daughters met in the dining-room , to begin the melancholy meal which all who have experienced a family affliction will recall with horror : a meal in which tears mingle with the food , and sobs fill the long intervals of silence . At this first meal scarcely any one spoke ; no one ventured to lift his eyes lest they should meet those of the others , and only furtive , grief-stricken glances were cast at the place left vacant by the being who had just fled from this world forever . The courses were eaten mechanically , without appetite , and handkerchiefs were lifted to the eyes oftener than napkins to the lips ; the rattle of the dishes cruelly wounded their ears , and the rare words exchanged fell from their lips tremulously and without animation . The spirit protested dumbly against the brutal necessity imposed upon it by the body , obliging it , by such a wretched act , to give over the expression of its bitter grief and break the current of its melancholy thoughts .