noon
` By-and-by , ' he muttered , ` later on . ' He was fearful , he dreaded the first beam of light that would flash upon his eyes . Evening came on , and still he had been unable to make up his mind to look upon the sun . He remained thus all day long , his face turned towards the curtains , watching on their transparent tissue the pallor of morn , the glow of noon , the violet tint of twilight , all the hues , all the emotions of the sky . There were pictured even the quiverings of the warm air at the light stroke of a bird 's wing , even the delight of earth 's odours throbbing in a sunbeam . Behind that veil , behind that softened phantasm of the mighty life without , he could hear the rise of spring . He even felt stifled at times when in spite of the curtains ' barrier the rush of the earth 's new blood came upon him too strongly .