nearly noon
We rise ; one wand ' ring thought pollutes the day . We feel , conceive , or reason ; laugh , or weep , Embrace fond woe , or cast our cares away ; It is the same : for , be it joy or sorrow , The path of its departure still is free . Man 's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow ; Nought may endure but mutability ! It was nearly noon when I arrived at the top of the ascent . For some time I sat upon the rock that overlooks the sea of ice . A mist covered both that and the surrounding mountains . Presently a breeze dissipated the cloud , and I descended upon the glacier .