noon
And the eyes of Crailey Gray rested very gently upon his best friend as they sang : `` Believe me , If all those endearing young charms , Which I gaze on so fondly to-day , Were to change by to-morrow and fleet from my arms , Like fairy gifts fading away , Thou wouldst still be adored as this moment thou art : Let thy loveliness fade as it will , And around the dear ruin , each wish of my heart Would entwine itself verdantly still . '' CHAPTER XVII . The Price of Silence It was the misfortune of Mr. Cummings 's first literary offering to annoy one of the editor 's friends . The Journal was brought to the corporal at noon , while he was considering whether he should rise from his couch or sleep another hour . Reclining among his pillows , he glanced through Cummings 's description with the subdued giggle he always had for the good William 's style but as his eye fell upon one paragraph he started sat upright , and proceeded to read the passage several times with anxious attention . `` Only two or three sources of regret occurred to mar the delight -LRB- in which young and old participated -RRB- of that festal and dazzling scene . One was the absence of Miss Fanchon Bareaud , one the donors ; another , that of Corporal Gray ; a third was the excessive modesty of Major Vanrevel , although present at the time , refused to receive the ladies ' sumptuous offering and insisted that Captain Marsh was the proper person to do the honors , to which the latter reluctantly , though gracefully consented .