morning, noon
`` In other words , my dear friend , _ Miss Mortimer _ had promised to become _ my wife _ , and I need not say , I was the happiest of men . I thought with rapture of the bliss I was about to enjoy in having by my side , throughout life , this charming creature . I trembled at the very thought that the accident in the wood might not have happened , and I might never have known her ! I was at the parsonage morning , noon , and night . When not beside _ her _ I was riding through the forest at full speed , with bared brow , laughing lips , and shouts of joy -- in a word , my dear friend , I was as much intoxicated as ever youth was yet , and fed on froth and moonshine to an extent that was really astonishing ! `` There was absolutely nothing to oppose our marriage . My old guardian , it is true , shook his head , and suggested inquiries into the family , position , character , etc. , of the Mortimers ; I was young , wealthy , heir of one of the oldest families , he said , and sharpers might deceive me .