he intended to
rejoice with a good will towards men and especially towards the Ambroses.
After dinner the whole party, consisting of three highly efficient
persons and old Reynolds, adjourned to the church to complete the
decorations for the morrow.

The church of Billingsfield, known as St. Mary's, was quite large enough
to contain twice the entire population of the parish. It was built upon a
part of the foundations of an ancient abbey, and the vicar was very proud
of the monument of a crusading Earl of Oxford which he had caused to be
placed in the chancel, it having been discovered in the old chancel of
the abbey in the park, far beyond the present limits of the church. The
tower was the highest in the neighbourhood. The whole building was of
gray rubble, irregular stones set together with a crumbling cement, and
presented an appearance which, if not architecturally imposing, was at
least sufficiently venerable. At the present time the aisles were full of
heaped-up holly and wreaths; a few lamps and a considerable number of
tallow candles shed a rather feeble light amongst the pillars; a crowd of
school children, not yet washed for the morrow, were busy under the
directions of the schoolmistress in decorating the chancel; Mr. Thomas
Reid the conservative sexton was at the top of a tall ladder, presumably
using doubtful language to himself as every third nail he tried to drive
into the crevices of the stone "crooked hisself and larfed at him," as he
expressed it; the organ was playing and a dozen small boys with three or
four men were industriously practising the anthem "Arise, Shine,"
producing strains which if not calculated altogether to elevate the heart
by their harmony, would certainly have caused the hair of a sensitive
musician to rise on end; three or four of the oldest inhabitants were
leaning on their sticks in the neighbourhood of the great stove in the
middle aisle, warming themselves and grumbling that "times warn't as they
used to be;" Mr. Abraham Boosey was noisily declaring that he had
"cartlods more o' thim greens" to come, and Muggins, who had had some
beer, was stumbling cheerfully against the pews in his efforts to bring a
huge load of fir branches to the foot of Mr. Thomas Reid's long ladder.
It was a thorough Christmas scene and John Short's heart warmed as he
came back suddenly to the things which for three years had been so
familiar to him and which he had so much missed in his solitude at
C