blew in fresh from the sea, Faith found herself established
Friday afternoon. Mr. Linden had promised to show her the surf, and so
had brought her down to a little village, long ago known to him, on the
New England shore; where the people lived by farming and fishing, and
no hotel attracted or held an influx of city life. It was rather late
in the day, for the journey had been in part off the usual route of
railway and steam, and therefore had been longer if not wearier. But
when Faith had got rid of the dust, Mr. Linden came to her door to say
that it would be half an hour to supper, and ask if she was too tired
to walk down to the beach.

The shore was but a few hundred yards from the little farmhouse; green
grass, with interrupting rocks, extending all the way. Faith hardly
knew what she was corning to till she reached the brink. There the
precipitous rocks rose sheer a hundred feet from the bottom, and at the
bottom, down below her, a narrow strip of beach was bordered with the
billowy crest and foam of the sea. Nothing but the dark ocean and the
illimitable ocean line beyond; there was not even a sail in sight this
evening; in full uninterrupted power and course, from the broad east,
the swells of the sea rolled in and broke--broke, with their graceful,
grand monotony.

The beach was narrow at height of tide; now the tide was out.
Fishermen's boats were drawn up near to the rocks, and steep narrow
pathways along and down the face of them allowed the fishermen to go
from the top to the bottom.

"Can't we get down there?" said Faith, when she had stood a minute
looking silently. Her face showed an eager readiness for action.

"Can you fly, little bird?"--"Yes--as well as the fishermen can!"

"If you cannot I can carry you," said Mr. Linden.--And doubtless he
would have found some way to make his words good had there been need;
as it was, he only guarded her down the steep rocky way, going before
her and holding her hand in a grasp she would have been puzzled to get
away from. But Faith was light and free of foot, and gave him no
trouble. Once at the bottom, she went straight towards those in-coming
big waves, and in front of them stood still. The sea-breeze blew in her
face; the roar of the breakers made music in her ears. Faith folded one
hand upon the other, and stood motionless. Now and then the wind caught
the spray from some beaten rock and flung it in her face, and wave
after wave rose up and donned its wh