five o'clock before
That night he hardly could sleep for joy . He set about his new duties with zeal . Teaching itself is far from easy work to anyone anxious to make it genuine ; and Cosmo had besides to leave home early in all kinds of wintry weather , and walk to it through the bitterness of BLACK FROST , the shifting toil of deep snow , or the assault of fierce storm . But he thought nothing of the labour or its accessories of discomfort ; the only thing he felt hard was having to leave his father all the winter-day alone , for it was generally five o'clock before he got back to him . And now in the heart of the laird arose a fresh gratitude for the son God had given him . His hours passed mainly in devotion and anticipation . Every time he received his son from the arms of the winter to his own , it was like the welcoming of one lost and found again .