noon
It struck me as one of the funniest things -- and one of the most pathetic -- I had ever seen . I 'll say this for Devore -- he tried out the major on nearly every kind of job ; and surely it was n't Devore 's fault that the major failed on every single one of them . His first attempt was as typical a failure as any of them . That first morning Devore assigned him to cover a wedding at high noon , high noon being the phrase we always used for a wedding that took place round twelve o'clock in the day . The daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants in the town , and also one of our largest advertisers , was going to be married to the first deputy cotillion leader of the German Club , or something of that nature . Anyhow the groom was what is known as prominent in society , and the chief wanted a spread made of it . Devore sent the major out to cover the wedding , and when he came back told him to write about half a column .