rhaps did
not see the former, for his own eyes were cast down. He stood there,
the fingers of both hands lightly interlaced, his face quiet to the
last degree of immovability. The doctor's first words, to Faith, had
brought a moment's flush to his cheeks, but it had passed with the
moment; gravity and steadiness and truth were all that remained. The
doctor recognized them all, but all as adverse or opposition forces.

"I will not detain you longer, sir!--I told you, Miss Faith," he said
sitting down and changing his tone, "that I did not know how to cut up
cake--still less how to administer it. I found this family--very
poor--over at Neanticut, on some of my excursions;--and somewhat
carelessly thought they could perform the duty of taking papers out of
a bag, as well as wiser people. There is a girl too, the daughter, who
seemed clever enough. But I have had reason to doubt my own wisdom in
the proceeding, after all."

Faith heard the door close after Reuben with the first of the doctor's
words to her. She listened to the rest with a divided interest. Her
mind had gone off to her basket of bananas, and was besides occupied
with a little lurking wonder at Reuben's impracticability. But with
nothing strongly, the feeling of weakness and lassitude was so taking
the upper hand of every other. The relaxing now began to tell of the
great tension she had borne for a day or two; the relaxing was entire,
for what the basket had begun Reuben's appearance had finished. Faith
was sure he had a letter for her, and so sat and looked at the doctor
like one whose senses were floating away in a dream--one of those
pleasant dreams that they do not wish to break.

"You are faint!" said the doctor suddenly. "Mrs. Derrick, have you any
wine in the house? I should like some here."

But Mrs. Derrick's first step (it seemed but that) was to Faith--taking
her out of the easy-chair and putting her on the couch before any one
had time to say ay or no. There she left her while she opened the
closet and got out the wine; bringing it then to Faith and setting the
doctor aside most unceremoniously. Faith had not quite reached the
fainting point, though she was near it from mere inanition. She drank
the wine, and smiled at them both like one who had a secret wine of her
own that she was taking privately.

"What _will_ she eat, Mrs. Derrick?" said the doctor in real concern.
"Tea and toast won't do!"

"I will take something presently," Faith sa