t stronger than yesterday,--every line and feature shewed
prostration--and patience. Breakfast had been passed over nominally.
What Mrs. Derrick could do for her was done; what she could not, lay
heavy on the hearts of both as the one went down to make the days
arrangements, and the other lay still to endure. Reuben had not come
after the morning train--there was nothing even to expect till night,
and Faith lay listening to her little clock and watching the passage of
the April sunbeams through her room.

Suddenly a loud startling rap at the front door. But she was powerless
to go and see, and after that one sound the house seemed to sink into
perfect stillness. Then the door of her room opened, and Mrs. Derrick
came in bearing a large basket. A heavy one too, but Mrs. Derrick would
have spent her last atom of strength before she would have let any one
else bring it up. Her face looked quite radiant.

"Pretty child!" she said, "here's something for you!"

It was needless to ask questions,--Mrs. Derrick's face could have but
one meaning. Faith neither asked nor answered, except by the sudden
start of the blood into cheeks which were pale enough before. Slipping
from the couch she was on her knees by the basket, pulling out the ends
of the knots by which it was tied, with just a tiny beautiful smile at
work on her changed lips. Her mother went softly away (she thought the
first sight of anything in _that_ line belonged to Faith alone) and the
April sunbeams took a new view of things.

The knots gave way, and the basket cover swung round, and the white
wrapping paper came off; and within lay something for her truly!--most
appropriate! A great stem of bananas and another of plantains, thick
set with fruit, displayed their smooth green and red coats in very
excellent contrast, and below and around and doing duty as mere
packing, were sunny Havana oranges, of extra size, and of extra
flavour--to judge by the perfume. But better than all, to Faith's eye,
was a little slip of blackmarked white paper, tucked under a red
banana--it had only these words--

'Sweets to the sweet.'

"Faith, I should put in more, but the basket refuses. It is the measure
of only one part of the proverb--do you understand?"

Faith knew oranges, she had never seen bananas or plantains before. It
was all one; for the time being they were not bananas or oranges but
hieroglyphics; and the one fruit looked as much like Mr. Linden's
handwritin