midday
Ah ! health to the soul of thy dearest mother , '' he added , with a sigh ; `` how blythe would she have been to see this happy St. Valentine 's morning ! '' Catharine took the opportunity of escape which was thus given her , and glided from the room . To Henry it seemed as if the sun had disappeared from the heaven at midday , and left the world in sudden obscurity . Even the high swelled hopes with which the late incident had filled him began to quail , as he reflected upon her altered demeanour -- the tears in her eyes , the obvious fear which occupied her features , and the pains she had taken to show , as plainly as delicacy would permit , that the advances which she had made to him were limited to the character with which the rites of the day had invested him . Her father looked on his fallen countenance with something like surprise and displeasure . `` In the name of good St. John , what has befallen you , that makes you look as grave as an owl , when a lad of your spirit , having really such a fancy for this poor girl as you pretend , ought to be as lively as a lark ? ''