noon
Above the woods , that screened this glen , rose the lofty summits of the Pyrenees , which often burst boldly on the eye through the glades below . Sometimes the shattered face of a rock only was seen , crowned with wild shrubs ; or a shepherd 's cabin seated on a cliff , overshadowed by dark cypress , or waving ash . Emerging from the deep recesses of the woods , the glade opened to the distant landscape , where the rich pastures and vine-covered slopes of Gascony gradually declined to the plains ; and there , on the winding shores of the Garonne , groves , and hamlets , and villas -- their outlines softened by distance , melted from the eye into one rich harmonious tint . This , too , was the favourite retreat of St. Aubert , to which he frequently withdrew from the fervour of noon , with his wife , his daughter , and his books ; or came at the sweet evening hour to welcome the silent dusk , or to listen for the music of the nightingale . Sometimes , too , he brought music of his own , and awakened every fairy echo with the tender accents of his oboe ; and often have the tones of Emily 's voice drawn sweetness from the waves , over which they trembled . It was in one of these excursions to this spot , that she observed the following lines written with a pencil on a part of the wainscot : SONNET Go , pencil ! faithful to thy master 's sighs !