midday
On the other hand , it was some loss that he could not go to the church , and he remembered with a pang how happy he had been after a night of terrors when he had gone into God 's house in the morning and cast his burden on him with one yearning cry of `` God bless all women and young children ! '' It was now the Christmas season , and his heart tingled and thrilled as the brothers passed through the door at midday and talked of the women who attended the Christmas services . Were they really so calm as they seemed to be , and had they conquered their natural affections ? Sometimes during the midday service he would slide back the grating and listen for the women 's voices . He heard one voice in all of them , but he knew it was only a dream . Then he would watch the snow falling from the little patch of dun-coloured sky crossed by bars , and tell himself that that was all he was to see of the world henceforth . The sky emptied itself at last , and Brother Paul came again to shovel away the snow .