absented himself from that
lovers' meeting, but as a matter of fact he did not. Nelly's flush, the
shy, burning look which Langrishe sent her from his dark eyes, were
enough for the two principals. For the rest, all seemed to be of the
most ordinary. No one could have supposed that for the two persons
mainly concerned this was the most wonderful Christmas Day there ever
had been since the beginning.

During lunch Langrishe talked mainly to the General. They had plenty to
talk about. The General found it necessary to apologise to Nelly for
"talking shop," an apology which was tendered in a whimsical spirit and
received in the same. Pat, waiting at table, quite forgot that he was
Sir Denis Drummond's manservant, listening to the stirring tale; and was
once again Corporal Murphy, back in "th' ould rig'mint." In fact, he
once almost forgot himself so far as to put in an eager comment, but
fortunately pulled himself up in time. He mentioned afterwards to
Bridget that the Captain's talk had nearly brought him to the point of
"joinin'" again. "Only that I remembered that at last you'd consinted to
my spakin' to Sir Denis I couldn't have held myself in, Bridget, my
jewel," he said. "But the thought of gettin' kilt before ever I'd made
you Mrs. Murphy was too much for me."

There was considerable excitement in the servants' hall over Captain
Langrishe's presence. Pat, of course, knew all about him since he
belonged to "th' ould rig'mint"; but it was through Bridget's feminine
perspicacity that it broke on the amazed couple that it was for him Miss
Nelly had been breaking her heart all the time.

"It 'ud do you good," said Pat, "to see the way she carries her little
sojer's jacket, and the holly berries on her pretty head like a crown."

To be sure, the younger ones of the servants' hall were talking too, and
they even approached Pat, who outside the duties of his office was not
awesome, for the satisfaction of their curiosity.

"Just wait," said Pat oracularly, "an' ye'll see what ye'll see."

The speech meant nothing to Pat's own mind except that they would be all
wiser later on. However, it went nearer the mark than he had intended.

The afternoon of Christmas Day was always the occasion for a Christmas
Tree. Everyone in the house was remembered in the distribution of
presents, even the dogs. The tree was set up in the servants' hall and
the General had never omitted to distribute the presents himself in all
the years