noon
Cradled in its downy bed , beneath a window closely curtained , to obstruct the light , lay a sleeping infant , whose dawn of life had just begun . Its very helplessness demanded our love and pity . It smiled and wept , but knew not why ; but succeeding days added strength and vigor to his frame , and he came forth in all the sportiveness and beauty of infant loveliness . It was noon ; the sun had gained his zenith in the heavens , and shed down his scorching rays upon the parched earth , that lay drooping beneath his noon-day beams . Scarce a leaf was seen to move , the birds sat silent with folded wing , in the leafy branches , the flowers hung fainting upon their stems , and nature shrank from the oppressive heat . The cradled infant had passed from infancy to childhood , from childhood to youth , from youth to manhood , through the various changes that mark each successive period , and he now stood in the meridian of life , `` With all his blushing honors thick upon him . '' His brow was marked by care and anxiety , and he seemed ambitious to win a name .