What a twitter of birds was in Faith's ears as she awoke next morning!
Perhaps they were not really more noisy than usual, but she seemed to
hear them more; and then it was a soft balmy morning, with a joyous
spring sunshine and a dancing spring air, which gave full effect to all
the bird voices. Faith listened to the chorus, the choir, the concert,
the solos, with a charmed ear. The minute's hush; the low
twitter--answered softly from bush and tree; the soft chiming in of
other notes; the swelling, quickening, increasing song--till every
sparrow and kildeer in all Pattaquasset drew his bow and clattered his
castanets with the speed and the eagerness of twenty fiddlers. Only in
this orchestra the heads turned gracefully on swelling throats, and for
the angular play of elbows there was the lifting flutter of joyous
wings; and the audience of opening leaves "clapped their little hands"
for an encore.

Such were the sounds that came to Faith from without;--within her room,
Mrs. Derrick moved silently about, lighting the fire, arranging the
window curtains, the table and couch, laying out Faith's dressing gown
to air, but not saying a word to her yet, lest she might be asleep.
Faith could see the relief and gladness in every step her mother
took--and well knew why. On the white spread before her lay a glowing
little bunch of spring flowers, the last night's dew yet hiding in the
depths of the violets, and sprinkling the leaves of the May roses, and
making the windflowers look at her with wet eyes. Faith grasped these
and held a considerably long conversation with them; then found it in
her heart to speak otherwise.

"Mother," said she, with a little smile upon the contented languor of
convalescence,--"you feel better!"

Mrs. Derrick came quick to her side, and kissed her and stroked her
face. "Pretty child," she said, "so do you."

Which fact Faith confirmed by setting about the business of dressing
with more energy and good will than she had for many a day brought to
it. The pale cheeks were not quite so pale this morning. The white
dress was tied round the waist with _that_ blue ribband of long
ago--never yet spoiled with wearing; and in it the roses and violets
made a spot of warmer colour. When at last she was ready, and had
stepped out into the hall, Mr. Linden met her there as he had done the
night after the fire; and as then, stayed her for a minute and scanned
her face: with a different look from then, with a