'
Lily's illness interrupted her teaching at the village school for
many weeks, and she was in no great haste to resume it. Alethea
Weston seemed to enjoy doing all that was required, and Lily left it
in her hands, glad to shut her eyes as much as possible to the
disheartening state the parish had been in ever since her former
indiscretion.
The approach of Christmas, however, made it necessary for her to
exert herself a little more, and her interest in parish matters
revived as she distributed the clothing-club goods, and in private
conference with each good dame, learnt the wants of her family. But
it was sad to miss several names struck out of the list for non-
attendance at church; and when Mrs. Eden came for her child's
clothing, Lily remarked that the articles she chose were unlike those
of former years, the cheapest and coarsest she could find.
St. Thomas's day was marked by the custom, called at Beechcroft
'gooding.' Each mother of a family came to all the principal houses
in the parish to receive sixpence, towards providing a Christmas
dinner, and it was Lily's business to dispense this dole at the New
Court. With a long list of names and a heap of silver before her,
she sat at the oaken table by the open chimney in the hall, returning
a nod or a smiling greeting to the thanks of the women as they came,
one by one, to receive the little silver coins, and warm themselves
by the glowing wood fire.
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