midday
`` Come , we will go down , '' said the abbess , rising . They descended to the refectory . The long hall , that had been the scene of so much horror and confusion in the morning , was now restored to its normal condition . The plain , frugal , midday meal of the abbess and the elder nuns was arranged with pure cleanliness upon the table , where , but a few hours before , the body of the wounded man had lain . But the awful event of the morning had taken a deep effect upon the quiet and sensitive sisterhood . They sat down at the table , but scarcely touched the food . When the form of dining -- for it was little more than a form that day -- was over , the abbess and her nuns arose , and separated about their several vocations .