nearly an hour before noon
no better at Troyes ; and hunting beef !!! my dream is true ! '' and he bore in triumph to Vivian , who was nearly asleep , the ample round of salt and pickled beef well stuffed with all kinds of savoury herbs . It was nearly an hour before noon ere the travellers had remounted . Their road again entered the forest which they had been skirting for the last two days . The huntsmen were abroad ; and the fine weather , his good meal and seasonable rest , and the inspiriting sounds of the bugle made Vivian feel recovered from his late fatigues . `` That must be a true-hearted huntsman , Essper , by the sound of his bugle .