noons
She was pure of self-judgment -- conscious of no comparing of herself with others , least of all with those next her . At length the harvest was finished ; or , as the phrase of the district was , clyack was gotten -- a phrase with the derivation , or even the exact meaning of which , I am unacquainted ; knowing only that it implies something in close association with the feast of harvest-home , called the kirn in other parts of Scotland . Thereafter , the fields lay bare to the frosts of morning and evening , and to the wind that grew cooler and cooler with the breath of Winter , who lay behind the northern hills , and waited for his hour . But many lovely days remained , of quiet and slow decay , of yellow and red leaves , of warm noons and lovely sunsets , followed by skies -- green from the west horizon to the zenith , and walked by a moon that seemed to draw up to her all the white mists from pond and river and pool , to settle again in hoar-frost , during the colder hours that precede the dawn . At length every leafless tree sparkled in the morning sun , incrusted with fading gems ; and the ground was hard under foot ; and the hedges were filled with frosted spider-webs ; and winter had laid the tips of his fingers on the land , soon to cover it deep with the flickering snow-flakes , shaken from the folds of his outspread mantle . But long ere this , David and Margaret had returned with renewed diligence , and powers strengthened by repose , or at least by intermission , to their mental labours , and Hugh was as constant a visitor at the cottage as before . The time , however , drew nigh when he must return to his studies at Aberdeen ; and David and Margaret were looking forward with sorrow to the loss of their friend .