noon
These sorely tried men were destined to endure much suffering before the light of the sun came back to cheer their drooping spirits . Christmas came at last , but with it came no bright sun to remind those ice-bound men of our Saviour -- the `` Sun of Righteousness '' -- whose birth the day commemorated . It was even darker than usual in Refuge Harbour on that Christmas-day . It was so dark at noon that one could not see any object more than a few yards distant from the eyes . A gale of wind from the nor ' - west blew the snow-drift in whirling ghost-like clouds round the _ Hope _ , so that it was impossible to face it for a moment . So intense was the cold that it felt like sheets of fire being driven against the face ! Truly it was a day well fitted to have depressed the heartiest of men .