noon
All was still as death . Perhaps , exhausted by his lonely vigils , he slept , and it would be cruel to awaken him . Perhaps he would frown on me in anger , for not respecting the sanctity of his vow . I had seen him at noon , but he did not speak or look at me ; and as his mother said , he had never appeared so pale , so heart-worn , and so wretched . He was evidently ill and suffering , though to his mother 's anxious inquiries he declared himself well , perfectly well . There was one thing which made me glad . The gay , mingling laughs , the sounds of social joy , of music and mirth , came so softened through the long winding avenue , that they broke against the library in a soft , murmuring wave that could not be heard within .