noon
_ William D. O'Connor _ THE FOUR-FIFTEEN EXPRESS _ Amelia B. Edwards _ THE SIGNAL-MAN _ Charles Dickens _ THE HAUNTED SHIPS _ Allan Cunningham _ A RAFT THAT NO MAN MADE _ Robert T. S. Lowell _ THE INVISIBLE PRINCESS _ Francis O ' Connor _ THE ADVOCATE 'S WEDDING-DAY _ Catherine Crowe _ THE BIRTHMARK _ Nathaniel Hawthorne _ At the West End of Boston is a quarter of some fifty streets , more or less , commonly known as Beacon Hill . It is a rich and respectable quarter , sacred to the abodes of Our First Citizens . The very houses have become sentient of its prevailing character of riches and respectability ; and , when the twilight deepens on the place , or at high noon , if your vision is gifted , you may see them as long rows of Our First Giants , with very corpulent or very broad fronts , with solid-set feet of sidewalk ending in square-toed curbstone , with an air about them as if they had thrust their hard hands into their wealthy pockets forever , with a character of arctic reserve , and portly dignity , and a well-dressed , full-fed , self-satisfied , opulent , stony , repellent aspect to each , which says plainly , `` I belong to a rich family , of the very highest respectability . '' History , having much to say of Beacon Hill generally , has , on the present occasion , something to say particularly of a certain street which bends over the eminence , sloping steeply down to its base . It is an old street , -- quaint , quiet , and somewhat picturesque . It was young once , though , -- having been born before the Revolution , and was then given to the city by its father , Mr. Middlecott , who died without heirs , and did this much for posterity .