A beautiful faith! it gave a meaning to the old custom of gifts and kind words.

LOVE coming into the world!--the idea pleased his artistic taste, being simple and sublime.

Lois used to tell him, while she feebly tried to set his room in order, of all her plans,--of how Sam Polston was to be married on New-Year's,--but most of all of the Christmas coming out at the old school-master's: how the old house had been scrubbed from top to bottom, was fairly glowing with shining paint and hot fires,--how Margret and her mother worked, in terror lest the old man should find out how poor and bare it was,--how he and Joel had some secret enterprise on foot at the far end of the plantation out in the swamp, and were gone nearly all day.
She ceased coming at last.

One of the sisters went out to see her, and told him she was too weak to walk, but meant to be better soon,--quite well by the holidays.

He wished the poor thing had told him what she wanted of him,--wished it anxiously, with a dull presentiment of evil.
The days went by, cold and slow.