midnight
Up the chimney roared the fire , and brightened the room with its broad blaze . The faces of the father and mother had a sober gladness ; the children laughed ; the eldest daughter was the image of Happiness at seventeen ; and the aged grandmother who sat knitting in the warmest place , was the image of Happiness grown old . They had found the ` herb , heart 's - ease , ' in the bleakest spot of all New England . -LRB- This family were situated in the Notch of the White Hills , where the wind was sharp throughout the year , and pitilessly cold in the winter -- giving their cottage all its fresh inclemency before it descended on the valley of the Saco -RRB- They dwelt in a cold spot and a dangerous one ; for a mountain towered above their heads , so steep , that the stones would often rumble down its sides and startle them at midnight . The daughter had just uttered some simple jest that filled them all with mirth , when the wind came through the Notch and seemed to pause before their cottage -- rattling the door , with a sound of wailing and lamentation , before it passed into the valley . For a moment it saddened them , though there was nothing unusual in the tones . But the family were glad again when they perceived that the latch was lifted by some traveller , whose footsteps had been unheard amid the dreary blast which heralded his approach , and wailed as he was entering , and went moaning away from the door .