noon
You will own , I think , that I have got you over the ground this time , without much loitering by the way . Cheer up ! I 'll ease you with another new chapter here -- and , what is more , that chapter shall take you straight into the thick of the story . June twenty-first , the day of the birthday , was cloudy and unsettled at sunrise , but towards noon it cleared up bravely . We , in the servants ' hall , began this happy anniversary , as usual , by offering our little presents to Miss Rachel , with the regular speech delivered annually by me as the chief . I follow the plan adopted by the Queen in opening Parliament -- namely , the plan of saying much the same thing regularly every year . Before it is delivered , my speech -LRB- like the Queen 's -RRB- is looked for as eagerly as if nothing of the kind had ever been heard before .