@@@@@People crossed themselves when they saw
@@@@@People crossed themselves
when
they saw the dark-skinned baby with the green eyes and Scarlett was
pleasedShe thought they were blessing the baby
As Christmas came nearer, Scarlett lost much of the elation she'd felt
when she was freed from the captivity of convalescence"I wouldn't
be
in Atlanta for all the tea in China, even if I was invited to all the
parties, or in Charleston, either, with their silly dance cards and
receiving lines," she told Cat, "but I'd like to be somewhere that's
not so damp all the time Scarlett thought it would be nice to be
living in a cottage so that she could whitewash it and paint the trim
the way Kathleen and the cousins were doingAnd all the other
cottagers too, in Adamstown and beside the roadsWhen she walked
over
to Kennedy's bar on December 22 and saw the shops and houses
being
limed and painted over the almost-new jobs done in the autumn, she
pranced with delightHer pleasure in the neat prosperity of her town
took away the slight sadness that she often felt when she went to her
own bar for companionshipIt sometimes seemed as if the
conversation
turned stiff as soon as she entered"We've got to decorate the house
for Christmas," she announced to Mrs"What do the Irish do?"
Holly branches on mantels and over doors and windows, said the
housekeeperAnd a big candle, usually red, in one window to light the
Christ Child's wayWe'll have one in every window, Scarlett declared,
but MrsScarlett could have all the
candles she wanted on tables-or the floor, if it made her happy-but
only one window should have a candleAnd that one could only be
lighted on Christmas Eve when the Angelus rangThe housekeeper
smiled"The tradition is that the youngest child in the house lights
a rush from the coals on the hearth as soon as the Angelus is heard,
then lights the candle with the flame from the rushYou might have
to
help her a bit Scarlett and Cat spent Christmas at Daniel's house
There was nearly enough admiration for Cat to satisfy even Scarlett
And enough people coming through the open door to keep her mind
off the
Christmases at Tara in the old days when the family and house
servants
went out onto the wide porch after breakfast in response to the cry,
"Christmas Gift
When Gerald O'Hara gave a drink of whiskey and a plug of tobacco to
every field hand as he handed him his new coat and new bootsWhen
Ellen O'Hara said a brief prayer for each woman and child as she gave
them lengths of calico and flannel together with oranges and stick
candySometimes Scarlett missed the warm slurrings of black voices
and the flashing smiles on black faces almost more than she could
bear
"I need to go home, Colum," Scarlett sa