When we had finished with the boys we had the decorations for the Tree to get, and then to the Bon Marche for yards of flannel, calico, bas de laine, tricots, etc.  We had given W. rendezvous at five at Henrietta’s.  He was going to cross at night.  We found him there having his tea.  He had seen lots of people; been to the Elysee and had a long interview with the President (Grevy); then to the Quai d’Orsay to get his last instructions from the Minister; and he had still people coming to see him.  When we left (our train was before his) he was closeted with one of his friends, a candidate for the Institute, very keen about his vote which W. had promised him, and going over for about the twentieth time the list of the members to see what his chances were.  However, I suppose all candidates are exactly alike, and W. says he is sure he was a nuisance to all his friends when he presented himself at the Institute.  One or two people were waiting in the dining-room to speak to him, and his servant was distracted over his valise, which wasn’t begun then.  I promised him I would write him a faithful account of our fete once we had decided our day.  We took the five-o’clock train down, and a nice cold drive we had going home.  The roads were rather slippery, and the forest black and weird.  The trees which had been so beautiful in the morning covered with rime, seemed a massive black wall hemming us in.  It is certainly a lonely bit of country, once we had left the lights of Villers-Cotterets behind us, crossed the last railway, and were fairly started in the forest.  We didn’t meet anything—­neither cart, carriage, bucheron, nor pedestrian of any kind.

Henrietta was rather nervous, and she breathed a sigh of relief when we got out on the plains and trotted down the long hill that leads to La Ferte.  The chateau lights looked very warm and home-like as we drove in.  We gave a detailed account of all we had bought, and as we had brought our lists with us we went to work at once, settling what each child should have.  I found a note from the Abbe Marechal, the cure of Laferte-Milon, whom I wanted to consult about our service.  He is a very clever, moderate man, a great friend of ours, and I was sure he would help us and arrange a service of some kind for the children.  Of course I was rather vague about a Catholic service; a Protestant one I could have arranged myself, with some Christmas carols and a short liturgy, but I had no idea what Christmas meant to Catholic minds.  We had asked him to come to breakfast, and we would go over to the village afterward, see the church and what could be done.  He was quite pleased at the idea of doing anything for his poor little parish, and he is so fond of children and young people that he was quite as much interested as we were.  He knew the church, having held a service there three or four times.  We walked over, talking over the ceremony and what we could do.  He said he would give a benediction, bring over the Enfant Jesus, and make a small address to the children.  The music was rather difficult to arrange, but we finally agreed that we would send a big omnibus to bring over the harmonium from La Ferte, one or two Sisters, two choir children, and three or four of the older girls of the school who could sing, and he would see that they learned two or three canticles.