door and walked in.

Mrs. Derrick's face shewed gratification mingled with her good nature.
Faith smiled; and Miss Dilly was duly introduced as Miss Delia
Danforth, Mrs. Derrick's aunt, then on a visit at Pattaquasset.

"You've taken an early stroll this morning, sir," said this last lady.
"View the country?"

"No," said Mr. Linden, "I have been viewing the town."

"Ah! Well I call that viewing the country. Town and country, all's one
here; and it makes a very pleasant sort of place. But what do you call
the _town_, sir?--Do you drink coffee?"

"The town," said Mr. Linden, in answer to the first question--receiving
his coffee-cup from Mrs. Derrick by way of answer to the
second,--"means in this instance, Miss Danforth, that spot of country
which is most thickly settled. Yes, ma'am--I drink coffee."

"Very bad for you, sir; don't you know it?"

"Bad for me as one of the human race? or as an individual specially
marked out not to drink it?"

"Dear me!" said Miss Danforth sipping her own tea--"I don't know what
you are 'marked out' for. I think it's a mistake for everybody to think
he is 'marked' for something special--they set the mark themselves, and
generally it don't fit."

"But the fact that a man often gets the wrong mark, by no means proves
that there is no right one which belongs to him," said Mr. Linden,
looking gravely at Faith as if he meant she should smile.

Faith seemed to look at the question however rather seriously, for
dropping her knife and fork she asked,

"How shall a man know his mark?"

"By earnest consideration and prayer," he answered, really grave this
time. "I know of no other way, Miss Faith."

What a remark that was! it silenced the whole table. Knives and forks
and spoons had it alone, with only words of necessity; till Faith asked
Mr. Linden if he would not have another cup of coffee.

"Certainly!" he said handing her his cup. "There is so much to be said
on both sides of that little bit of china--I must not be partial in my
attention."

"But you can't study both sides of a subject at once," said the
coffee-hater.

"Then take them alternately--and (figuratively) walk round your
coffee-cup, surveying its fair proportions from different points of
view. If the coffee is strong and you are nervous--that's one thing.
Again, if the coffee be weak and you be phlegmatic--that's another."

"The coffee's not strong to-day," said Mrs. Derrick with a regretful
shake of the head.