A DECISIVE INTERVIEW
Sunrise on Christmas morning found all the family of Mondreer assembled in
the drawing room, which had been already restored to order by the
servants, and where no vestige of the previous night's festivity remained,
except the beautiful evergreen decorations.
"Who are for church this morning?" inquired Mr. Force, looking around upon
his assembled household.
"I think we all are, except, perhaps, Odalite, who may naturally shrink
from the ordeal of appearing there so soon," replied Mrs. Force, in a tone
so very subdued that it was scarcely redeemed from being that breach of
good breeding, a whisper in company.
But Odalite, who stood next to her mother, heard the words, and replied:
"I must not shrink from going to church, mamma. If people choose to stare
at me, to see how I bear what they suppose to be a heavy disappointment
and a deep mortification, they will do so from a kindly interest, I am
sure, and they will be pleased to find that, though I may be 'perplexed,'
I am 'not in despair.' Besides, mamma, the longer I stay away from church,
the more I shall be stared at when I go."
"You are right, my dear," said Mr. Force, who immediately went out to give
orders that all the carriages in the stables--that is to say, the family
coach, the break and the buggy--should be got ready and brought around to
take the family to All Faith Church.
There were other duties to be done before they broke their fast. On this
day, the servants, not only of the house, but of the plantation, were all
called in to family prayers.
The devotions were led by Mr. Force, assisted by Le.
When they were concluded, Christmas presents were distributed by the
children of the family to all the negroes present, and sent by them to all
those who, from old age, infancy or illness, were unable to attend the
gathering.
When all the plantation servants had retired, with gratitude and gladness,
the family went in to breakfast, where they enjoyed a merry morning meal.
As soon as it was over, they retired to their chambers to get ready for
church.
And there each one, in his or her sanctuary, found some token of the
presence of Santa Claus to be first discovered and enjoyed in secret. All
were more or less valuable and attractive, but among so many presents, in
so large a family, but few may be noticed.
Mr. Force found a warm, crimson, cashmere dressing gown, the united gift
of his children; an embroidered silk smoking cap, from his wife; a pair of
beaded slippers, from Miss Meeke, and a Turkish chibouk and a can of
Turkish tobacco, brought all the way from beyond seas and kept for this
day, by Le.
Mrs. Force found a sealskin dolman--one of the first ever made in this
country--with muff and turban to match, from her husband; a satin
patchwork quilt, which had been the secret work of a year, from her
children; an embroidered hand screen, from Miss Meeke, and an elegant
ivory fan, brought from Canton, by Le.
Odalite received a "handy" edition of Shakespeare, in twelve small
volumes, bound in white vellum and silver and inclosed in a white morocco
case, with silver clasps, from her father; a small Bible, prayer book and
hymn book, bound in white velvet, with silver clasps and inclosed in a
hand case of white morocco, for church service, from her mother; a very
handsome and completely fitted workbox, brought all the way from Canton,
from Le.
Le himself received a very princely gift from his uncle, namely, a fine,
young horse of famous stock, with a handsome saddle and bridle, from his
aunt. These gifts were not exactly found in his chamber, only the letter
conferring them on his dressing table. A box of articles made by Odalite
during the three years of his absence--namely, six dozen white lambs' wool
socks, knit by her own fingers, and each pair warranted to outlast any
dozen pairs of machine-made hose; six ample zephyr wool scarfs, to be
used--if allowed--during the deck watches of the winter nights at sea; six
dozen pairs of lambs' wool gloves, six dozen pocket handkerchiefs, with
his name worked in the corners with the dark hair of her head. All these,
for their intrinsic usefulness, would have been very valuable; but for the
love and thought worked into them by the dear fingers of her whom he
loved, and during the longs years of his absence, this box of treasures
was invaluable to Le. The wealth of the Rothschilds could not have bought
it from him. Each precious item, as he turned it about in his hands, and
kissed it again and again, was full of her magnetism.
He put on a pair of the socks, because he loved to feel them next him. He
put one of the handkerchiefs in his bosom, next his heart, for the same
reason. But it would take up too much time and space to tell of all the
Christmas offerings of that happy day.
The children had passed the age of dolls and dolls' furniture, but they
received beautiful dressing cases, with boxes and writing desks, all
fitted up and exactly alike, except that brunette Wynnette's were all
lined with crimson velvet or satin, and blond Elva's with blue; and they
received books and trinkets suitable to their years.
Miss Meeke received a pair of gold bracelets from her pupils and a black
silk dress from their parents.
Even the transient guest, Mrs. Anglesea, received from Mr. and Mrs. Force
a handsome set of coral and gold jewelry that exactly suited her style and
taste.
So no one was overlooked; and, when the family reassembled in the drawing
room before starting for church, there ensued a gay confusion, a mirthful
strife, in the mutual offering and deprecating acknowledgments. But at
last they entered the carriages and drove away to All Faith.
Mr. and Mrs. Force, Odalite and Mrs. Anglesea rode in the family coach,
driven by Jake; Miss Meeke and her two pupils in the buggy, driven by
Wynnette, who was already a famous "whip."
The household servants rode in the break.
Le, mounted on the young horse given him by his uncle, escorted the whole
party, and made himself very useful in opening gates or taking down bars
for the caravan.
They all reached the church in good time. The party entered their pews
without feeling any annoyance. If they were stared at, they did not know
it.
The Christmas service was always a grand jubilee, deeply interesting,
highly exalting, and Dr. Peters' sermon was sure to be good, cheerful and
appropriate.
After the benediction, when the congregation began to disperse, the usual
neighborly greetings took place in the yard.
Friends came up to wish merry Christmas and happy New Year to the Forces,
and to receive the like courtesies from them. Happily, every one had the
good taste to ignore the unseemly events of the previous Tuesday.
And the Force family left the churchyard more at ease than they had
entered it.
The journey home was, therefore, very pleasant.
The subsequent Christmas dinner was a festival, and the dessert was
prolonged with cracking nuts, making "philopena" bargains, opening sugar
kisses and exchanging "verses."
It was not until after dinner that Le got a chance to speak to Odalite.
"Will you come out for a walk with me? It is not cold," he whispered, as
they all left the dining room.
"Yes," she answered; "and we will go now, or it will be too late."
And she took down her brown beaver coat and poke bonnet that always hung
in the hall ready for common use, and began to put them on.
Le took his overcoat and cap from the same rack, and speedily incased
himself. Their gloves were in the pockets of their coats, and so they were
soon ready, and in two minutes opened the hall door and left the house.
It was a fine winter twilight. The sun had just set, and the western
hemisphere was all aflame with the afterglow. The moon had just risen from
behind the deep blue waters of the bay, and was shining broad and full
from a rosy gray sky. Though the woods were bare, and the earth was brown
with winter, the scene was pleasant in its soft, subdued color and veiled
brightness.