morning,
noon
On Sunday , Mr. Talbot always came to take her to church , and this was a terrible grievance to Madame , though it was to Cicely the one refreshment of the week . If it had been only the being out of hearing of her hostess 's incessant tongue , the walk would have been a refreshment . Madame de Salmonnet had been transported from home so young that she was far more French than Scottish ; she was a small woman full of activity and zeal of all kinds , though perhaps most of all for her pot au feu . She was busied about her domestic affairs morning , noon , and night , and never ceased chattering the whole time , till Cicely began to regard the sound like the clack of the mill at Bridgefield . Yet , talker as she was , she was a safe woman , and never had been known to betray secrets . Indeed , much more of her conversation consisted of speculations on the tenderness of the poultry , or the freshness of the fish , than of anything that went much deeper . She did , however , spend much time in describing the habits and customs of the pensioners at Soissons ; the maigre food they had to eat ; their tricks upon the elder and graver nuns , and a good deal besides that was amusing at first , but which became rather wearisome , and made Cicely wonder what either of her mothers would have thought of it .