noon
Years passed on , many silent years , for we heard no sounds to tell us that time was threading the mazy thoroughfares of human life , stealing noiselessly through our dwellings , and pressing his way with us to the ocean of eternity , hastening on to the period when he shall come to an end , and the great angel shall swear there shall be time no longer . But so it was ; years had been borne away by his rapid flight , and laid side by side with those that passed before the flood , and change had come . Many voices that lisped their matin and their vesper hymns by one hearth stone , were now scattered far and wide , and other homes had sprung up , and the children had become parents , and new duties devolved upon them . Some had passed the meridian of life , the sun of some had reached their noon , while others were climbing up the eastern summit . But as yet death had spared that numerous , household ; but now he was watching for his prey . A son who had reached the meridian of life , with fair prospects and an unblemished reputation , was selected . He had consecrated himself to God , had put on Christ by baptism , and well did he adorn his profession , living a consistent Christian life .