noon
When she had gone and the callers after mail had been satisfied , Irving sat down at the table in the back of the store . He read the letter again and mused over it for a few moments contentedly ; then , with it lying open before him , he proceeded to write an answer . After finishing that , he drew from his pocket some papers -- French exercises , done in a scrawling , unformed hand . It was the noon hour , when the people of the village were all eating their dinners ; Mr. Beasley had gone home , and Irving was undisturbed . He helped himself to the crackers and dried beef which were his luncheon perquisites , and with these at his elbow and nibbling them from time to time he set about correcting his brother 's French . He sighed in spite of the happiness which was pervading him ; would Lawrence always go on confusing some of the forms of _ être _ and _ avoir _ ? Would he never learn to know the difference between _ ils ont _ and _ ils sont _ ?