eight
o'clock
His father , less interested in shooting and hunting , had devoted time and means to the flower gardens , and rendered them as rich as was possible in his day ; while earlier yet , Sir Walter 's grandfather had been more concerned for the interior , and had done much to enrich and beautify it . A great terrace stretched between the south front and a balustrade of granite , that separated it from the gardens spreading at a lower level . Here walked Henry Lennox and sought Tom May . It was now past eight o'clock on Sunday morning , and he found himself alone . The sun , breaking through heaviness of morning clouds , had risen clear of Haldon Hills and cast a radiance , still dimmed by vapour , over the glow of the autumn trees . Subdued sounds of birds came from the glades below , and far distant , from the scrub at the edge of the woods , pheasants were crowing . The morning sparkled , and , in a scene so fair , Henry found his spirits rise .