midday
The fact was she had written it in a moment of passion and against her conscience , and she regretted it now with far more compunction than she felt for anything she had written in former times in the `` Idol-Breaker . '' Then , though indirectly and sometimes directly attacking Christianity , she had written conscientiously , now for the first time she felt that she had dishonored her pen . She went down into the very deepest depths . The midday post brought her a letter from her stiff old editor , who understood her better , and thought more of her than she dreamed . It informed her that another member of the staff had returned from his holiday , and if she pleased she could be exempted from writing for a fortnight . As usual Mr. Bircham `` begged to remain hers faithfully . '' She hardly knew whether to regard this as a relief or as a punishment .