noon
The full moon shone on the great dark pile of the Abbey towers and the beech avenue beyond . There was just light enough in the garden to distinguish bushes as heavy masses , and to trace the paths from the grass . The air was sweet with the scent of flowers . It is amazing how different conditions can alter a scene : at noon , with the hum from the busy streets , it was commonplace enough ; by moonlight it became a mystic bower of enchantment . The girls walked along very quietly , treading on the grass so as to make no noise . A slight mist was rising from the ground near the Abbey ; in the rays of the moon it resembled a lake . Everything , indeed , was altered .