'Certainly. Mamma used to read it to me and tell me about it.'
'Well, you shall show me the place some time. How do you like it, mother?'
This question being addressed to Mrs. Dallas, who appeared in the doorway. She gave great approval.
'Do you like the effect of the partridge berries?' Pitt asked.
'It is excellent, I think. They brighten it up finely.'
'What would you say if you knew they were poison?'
'That would not make any difference. They do no hurt unless you swallow them, I suppose.'
'Esther finds in them an emblem of the time when the message of peace shall have neutralized all the hurtful things in the world, and made them harmless.'
Mrs. Dallas's eye fell coldly upon Esther. 'I do not think the Church knows of any such time,' she answered, as she turned away. Pitt whistled for some time thereafter in silence.
The decorations were finished, and most lovely to Esther's eyes; then, when they were all done, she went home to tea. For getting the greens and putting them up had taken both the morning and the afternoon to accomplish. She went home gaily, with a brisk step and a merry heart, at the same time thinking busily.