‘But you’ll have a holiday at Christmas,’ said my cousin.  ’Surely they’ll not be such heathens as to work you then?’

‘Perhaps the lad will be going home,’ said the minister, as if to mitigate his wife’s urgency; but for all that, I believe he wanted me to come.  Phillis fixed her eyes on me with a wistful expression, hard to resist.  But, indeed, I had no thought of resisting.  Under my new master I had no hope of a holiday long enough to enable me to go to Birmingham and see my parents with any comfort; and nothing could be pleasanter to me than to find myself at home at my cousins’ for a day or two, then.  So it was fixed that we were to meet in Hornby Chapel on Christmas Day, and that I was to accompany them home after service, and if possible to stay over the next day.

I was not able to get to chapel till late on the appointed day, and so I took a seat near the door in considerable shame, although it really was not my fault.  When the service was ended, I went and stood in the porch to await the coming out of my cousins.  Some worthy people belonging to the congregation clustered into a group just where I stood, and exchanged the good wishes of the season.  It had just begun to snow, and this occasioned a little delay, and they fell into further conversation.  I was not attending to what was not meant for me to hear, till I caught the name of Phillis Holman.  And then I listened; where was the harm?

‘I never saw any one so changed!’

‘I asked Mrs Holman,’ quoth another, ’"Is Phillis well?” and she just said she had been having a cold which had pulled her down; she did not seem to think anything of it.’

‘They had best take care of her,’ said one of the oldest of the good ladies; ’Phillis comes of a family as is not long-lived.  Her mother’s sister, Lydia Green, her own aunt as was, died of a decline just when she was about this lass’s age.’

This ill-omened talk was broken in upon by the coming out of the minister, his wife and daughter, and the consequent interchange of Christmas compliments.  I had had a shock, and felt heavy-hearted and anxious, and hardly up to making the appropriate replies to the kind greetings of my relations.  I looked askance at Phillis.  She had certainly grown taller and slighter, and was thinner; but there was a flush of colour on her face which deceived me for a time, and made me think she was looking as well as ever.  I only saw her paleness after we had returned to the farm, and she had subsided into silence and quiet.  Her grey eyes looked hollow and sad; her complexion was of a dead white.  But she went about just as usual; at least, just as she had done the last time I was there, and seemed to have no ailment; and I was inclined to think that my cousin was right when she had answered the inquiries of the good-natured gossips, and told them that Phillis was suffering from the consequences of a bad cold, nothing more.  I have said that I was to stay over the next day;