about seven o'clock
`` It is better for me not to arrive , '' thought he , `` until the family shall have returned from their daily labor , and are collected about the hearth . '' In the meantime , many an impression of profound and fervid piety came over him , when he reflected upon the incontrovertible proofs of providential protection and interference which had been , during his absence from home , under his struggles , and , in his good fortune , so clearly laid before him . `` Deep , '' he exclaimed , `` is the gratitude I owe to God for this ; may I never forget to acknowledge it ! '' It was now about seven o'clock ; the evening was calm , and the sun shone with that clear amber light which gives warmth , and the power of exciting tenderness to natural scenery . He had already gained the ascent which commanded a view of the rich sweep of country that reposed below . There it lay -- his native home -- his native parish -- bathed in the light and glory of the hour . Its fields were green -- its rivers shining like loosened silver ; its meadows already studded with hay-cocks , its green pastures covered with sheep , and its unruffled lakes reflecting the hills under which they lay .