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of the weaver．
‘You didn't hear the church bells this morning，perhaps，Master Marner？'dolly asked gently．‘This cottage is a long way from the village．’
‘Yes，I heard them，’answered Silas．For him Sunday bells did not mean anything．There had been no bells at the Light Street chapel．
‘Oh！'said Dolly．‘But—but do you have to work on a Sun－day？ You could make Sunday different from the other days，you know， by washing yourself，and cooking a little piece of meat，and going to church．And Master Marner，Christmas Day will be here soon！If you put on your best clothes and go to church and see the flowers and hear the singing，you'll feel much better！You'll know there is Someone you can trust！’
Dolly did not usually talk so much，but the matter seemed extremely important to her．
‘No，no，'silas replied．‘I don't know anything about church．I've never been to church．’
‘Never been！'repeated Dolly．‘Were there no churches in the town you were born in？’
‘Oh yes，'said Silas，‘there were a lot of churches．It was a big town，you see．But I only ever went to chapel．’
Dolly did not understand this word，but was afraid of asking any more questions，in case ‘chapel'meant something evil．After considering carefully for a moment，she said，‘Well，Master Marner，it's never too late to start going to church．It's very pleasant listening to the singing and the good words．If we go to church，rhen when trouble comes，Someone will take care of us．And if we do our best，then I believe Someone will help us when we need help．’
Dolly's explanation of her simple religion did not seem at all clear to Silas，but he did understand that she was asking him to go to church．He did not want to agree to that．Just then young Aaron came out from behind his mother's chair，and Silas of…fered him one of Dolly's cakes．
‘Oh Aaron！'said his mother．‘You're always eating！No，don't give him any more，Master Marner．But he can sing a song for you．I'm sure you'll like it．It's a beautiful Christmas carol．Come，Aaron，let's hear it．’
Little Aaron stood up straight and sang his carol in a clear，sweet voice．Dolly listened with delight，hoping that the carol would help to persuade Silas to come to church．
‘You see，Master Marner，'she said when Aaron had fin－ished，‘that's Christmas music．The Christmas Day service is wonderful，with all the voices and the music．I hope you'll be there with us．And remember，if you feel ill，I'll be happy to come and cook or clean for you．But I beg you，please stop weaving on Sundays．It's bad for soul and body，I'm sure．We must go now．Goodbye，Master Marner．’
‘Thank you，and goodbye，'said Silas，as he opened the door for them．He could not help feeling relieved when she had gone．Now he could weave and moan as much as he liked．
Mr Macey and Dolly had tried hard to persuade Silas to go to church．But in the end he spent Christmas Day alone in his cot－tage，looking out at the cold grey sky．In the evening，snow be－gan to fall，and he felt more distant and separate from his neighbours than ever．He sat in his robbed home，moaning mis－erably to himself，not noticing that his fire was no longer burn－ing and that he was getting cold．
But in Raveloe the church bells were ringing and the church was fuller than all through the rest of the year．It was a special day for everybody，and after the service they all hurried home in the biting cold to eat and drink with their families．
At the Red House nobody spoke of Dunstan's absence．The village doctor，Dr Kimble，and his wife were guests there for Christmas lunch，and the day passed happily．
The servants，however，were already preparing for the New Year's Eve dance which Squire Cass gave every year．It was the best party of the year，and guests used to come from miles around．Godfrey was looking forward to this year's party more than usual．But he was still worried．
‘What if Dunstan returns？’he thought．‘He'll tell the Squire about my secret marriage！And Molly's asking for more money！I'll have to sell something for cash．But on New Year's Eve，I can forget everything for an evening，and sit with Nancy，and look into her eyes，and dance with her…’
6 The New Year's Eve dance
On December 3lst it was snowing and very cold．All day there were ladies and gentlemen arriving at the Red House．
Godfrey Cass was waiting at the door for the only guest he cared about，Nancy Lammeter．Finally she arrived，sitting be hind her father on his horse，looking more beautiful than ever．Her lovely face blushed as she saw Godfrey come forward to lift her down from the horse．‘Why is he waiting for me？'she thought．‘I thought I made it clear to him that I'll never mar－ry him．People say he leads a bad life，and I can't marry a man like that．’
But the Squire appeared just then， to welcome his guests，and in the excitement nobody noticed Nancy's pink face as Godfrey's strong arms lifted her down．She hurried into the house with the other ladies to change her clothes．
The house was full of servants running here and there．Mrs Kimble，who always helped the Squire arrange these parties，was giving orders in a loud voice．Cooks were preparing food in the kitchens，and there was already a wonderful smell of baking in the air．
Upstairs，the ladies were excitedly putting on their best dresses，while talking to each other all the time．Nancy met her aunt，Mrs Osgood，who introduced her to some visitors of hers．The Misses Gunn were two young ladies who were not beauti－ful，but dressed very fashionably．
Just then Nancy's older sister Priscilla arrived．She was a large，cheerful girl，with a round face and a nose pink with cold．As they were changing their clothes，Priscilla said to Mrs Osgood，‘Look at our dresses，aunt！Of course Nancy looks beautiful in hers，but this colour makes me look yellow！ Nan－cy says we must wear the same dresses，because we're sisters，although I'm five years older！I'm ugly，I know I am．But I don't mind！'she turned to Mrs Osgood's two visitors．‘In my opinion the pretty girls are useful－I'm sure you agree－to catch the men．I don't think men are worth worrying about．Any woman with a good father and a good home had better stay single．That's what I'm going to do，anyway．We ugly girls don't need husbands！’
Mrs Osgood stood up and said quickly，‘My visitors and I should go downstairs now．Priscilla and Nancy，we'll see you later．’And the three ladies hurried out．
‘Oh really，Priscilla！’cried Nancy，when they were alone．‘You never think before you speak！ I'm sure the Misses Gunn thought you were very impolite！You almost told them they were ugly！’
‘Did I？’asked Priscilla in surprise．‘Well，that's the way I am．I always tell the truth．But I'm the ugly one—just look at me！’
‘Priscilla，you know I asked you to choose the dresses，’replied Nancy worriedly．‘I don't mind what colour I wear．’
‘You look lovely in this colour，dear child！You know you always have whatever you want in the end，although you never give orders or shout about it．I'm looking forward to seeing you married�