about noon
Come ! '' Without a word of demur , John obeyed . They passed out of the house together and took the private by-path to the church . It was then about noon , and the sun shone through a soft mist that threatened rain without permitting it to fall . The faint piping of a thrush in the near distance suggested the music of the coming Spring , and the delicate odour of plant-life pushing its way through the earth gave a pungent freshness to the quiet air . Arriving at the beautiful little sanctuary , they entered it by the vestry , though the public door stood open according to invariable custom . A singularly brilliant glare of luminance reflected from the plain clear glass that filled the apertures of the rose-window above the altar , struck aslant on the old-world sarcophagus which doubtless contained the remains of one who , all ` miraculous ' attributes apart , had nobly lived and bravely died , -- and as the Bishop moved reverently round it to the front of the altar-rails , his eyes were uplifted and full of spiritual rapture .