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 'That disposes of two; and now it will take half an hour to settle for the rest. Miss Furnival, you no doubt will accompany my mother. As I shall be among the walkers you will see how much I sacrifice by the suggestion.'

It was a mile to the church, and Miss Furnival knew the advantage of appearing in her seat unfatigued and without subjection to wind, mud, or rain. 'I must confess,' she said, 'that under all the circumstances, I shall prefer your mother's company to yours;' whereupon Staveley, in the completion of his arrangements, assigned the other places in the carriage to the married ladies of the company.

'But I have taken your sister Madeline's seat in the carriage,' protested Sophia with great dismay.

'My sister Madeline generally walks.'

'Then of course I shall walk with her;' but when the time came Miss Furnival did go in the carriage whereas Miss Staveley went on foot.

It so fell out, as they started, that Graham found himself walking at Miss Staveley's side, to the great disgust, no doubt, of half a dozen other aspirants for that honour. 'I cannot help thinking,' he said, as they stepped briskly over the crisp white frost, 'that this Christmas-day of ours is a great mistake.'

'Oh, Mr. Graham!' she exclaimed.

'You need not regard me with horror,—at least not with any special horror on this occasion.'

'But what you say is very horrid.'

'That, I flatter myself, seems so only because I have not yet said it. That part of our Christmas-day which is made to be in any degree sacred is by no means a mistake.'

'I am glad you think that.'

'Or rather, it is not a mistake in as far as it is in any degree made sacred. But the peculiar conviviality of the day is so ponderous! Its roast-beefiness oppresses one so thoroughly from the first moment of one's waking, to the last ineffectual effort at a bit of fried pudding for supper!'

'But you need not eat fried pudding for supper. Indeed, here, I am afraid, you will not have any supper offered you at all.'

'No; not to me individually, under that name. I might also manage to guard my ownself under any such offers. But there is always the flavour of the sweetmeat, in the air,—of all the sweetmeats, edible and non edible.'

'You begrudge the children their snap-dragon. That's what it all means, Mr. Graham.'

'No; I deny it; unpremeditated snap-dragon is dear to my soul; and I could expend myself in blindman's buff.'

'You shall then, after dinner; for of course you know that we all dine early.'