nearly five o'clock
Such , too , is life ! Miss Gwynne and Rowland walked on quietly together for a little space . There was something in the heart of each , unknown to the other , that seemed to close up speech . It was nearly five o'clock , and a January evening ; but for the ` pretty moon ' and the white mist from the river , and the frost-bitten snow on the roads , it would have been dark ; but it was really a fine , bright night . That river-mist rose from the meadows beneath like a large lake , and the moonlight pierced through it and mingled with it . It was such a night as lovers of a healthy , natural tone of mind might rejoice in ; frost and snow being no refrigerators of true , honest warmth , but rather tending to keep it alive , by exhilarating the spirits and clearing the atmosphere . Rowland broke the silence , and so clear was the air , that his own voice startled him .