noon
The remainder we were to leave to fortune . Love-making left me little time for any other thoughts ; but still as , for appearance ' sake , I was obliged to pass some hours of every day apart from Donna Maria , I took the occasion of one of these forced absences to visit a scene which had never quitted my mind through all the changeful fortunes of my life , -- the little spot where I was born . Rising one morning at break of day , I set out for Horseleap , to see once more , and for the last time , the humble home of my childhood . The distance was about sixteen miles ; but as I rode slowly , my mind full of old memories and reflections , I did not reach the place till nigh noon . Alas ! I should never have known the spot ! There had been a season of famine and pestilence , and now the little village was almost tenantless .