noon
Her heart yearned for the lonely man who , on that day , sat in the solitude of his poor chamber confidently expecting the messengers of good tidings who never came . She wondered what expression was on his face , as he watched the door and listened for the fall of feet upon the stairs . She knew , for she knew his nature , that he had carefully dressed himself in what he had that was best , in order to receive decently the long-expected visit ; she fancied that he would move thoughtfully about the narrow room , trying to give it a feebly festive look in accordance with his own inward happiness . He would forget to eat , as he sat there , hearing the hours chime one after another , seeing the sun rise higher and higher until noon and watching the lengthening shadows of the chimneys on the roofs as day declined . More than all , she wondered what that dreadful moment could be like when , each week , he gave up hope at last , and saw that it had all been a dream . She had seen him more than once , towards the evening of the regularly recurring day , still confidently expecting the coming of his friends , explaining that they must come by the last train , and hastening away in order to be ready to receive them . Somewhere between the Wednesday evening and the Thursday morning there must be an hour , of which she hardly dared to think , in which all was made clear to him , or in which a veil descended over all , shutting out in merciful obscurity the brilliant vision and the bitter disappointment .