midday
He was struggling now , with the death-rattle in his throat . From the corners of his mouth they sponged away the water and blood , which had welled up in quantities from his chest in writhing agony . Still the grand , glorious sun lit up all , like a conflagration of the whole world , with blood-laden clouds ; through the aperture of the port-hole , a wide streak of crimson fire blazed in , and , spreading over Sylvestre 's bed , formed a halo around him . At that very moment that same sun was to be seen in Brittany , where midday was about to strike . It was , indeed , the same sun , beheld at the precise moment of its never-ending round ; but here it kept quite another hue . Higher up in the bluish sky , it kept shedding a soft white light on grandmother Yvonne , sitting out at her door , sewing . In Iceland , too , where it was morning , it was shining at that same moment of death .