noon, Summer
I had set out in the prime of my youth , and here I was already ! -- But I mistook . The day might well be long in that region , for it contained the seasons . Winter slept there , the night through , in his winding-sheet of ice ; with childlike smile , Spring came awake in the dawn ; at noon , Summer blazed abroad in her gorgeous beauty ; with the slow-changing afternoon , old Autumn crept in , and died at the first breath of the vaporous , ghosty night . As we drew near the cottage , the clouded sun was rushing down the steepest slope of the west , and he sank while we were yet a few yards from the door . The same instant I was assailed by a cold that seemed almost a material presence , and I struggled across the threshold as if from the clutches of an icy death . A wind swelled up on the moor , and rushed at the door as with difficulty I closed it behind me .