the noon sun
Christmas morning came , clear , cold , shining bright . A slight thaw the day before had left every bough and twig and pine-needle covered with a moisture that had frozen in the night into glittering crystal sheaths , which flashed like millions of prisms in the sun . The beauty of the scene was almost solemn . The air was so frosty cold that even the noon sun did not melt these ice-sheaths ; and , under the flood of the full mid-day light , the whole landscape seemed one blaze of jewels . When Mercy and her mother entered Mrs. White 's room , half an hour before the dinner-hour , they found her sitting with the curtains drawn , because the light had hurt her eyes . `` Oh , Mrs. White ! '' exclaimed Mercy .