Mr.
Linden.

"It's Mr. Somers--and he wants to see you, Endecott!"

Faith went at her tumblers, and simultaneously, greatly to the dismay
of one party as to the surprise of the other, in walked Mr. Somers
after her.

"Miss Derrick told me you were in this room, sir," said the clergyman
shaking Mr. Linden's hand,--"so I came in. Ha! I am glad to be one of
the first to welcome you back. How do you do, Mr. Linden? You've been a
great while from Pattaquasset!--and you've been missed, I don't doubt."

Apparently not by Mr. Somers! But Mr. Linden met all the advances as he
should, merely stating his belief in the general proposition that
"there is always somebody to miss everybody."

"Will you take a seat here, sir?" he said--"or may I go with you to the
next room?"

"I--have no choice," said Mr. Somers looking benignantly around;--"it
is very pleasant here, very!--cool;--perhaps Miss Derrick will have no
objection to our taking our seats here?"

Faith did not say, but as Mr. Somers had taken her leave for granted,
and his seat consequently, she was saved that trouble. How she reddened
at the thought of the roses with which she was dressed! And there she
stood in full view, washing her spoons! But Mr. Somers looked the other
way.

"I--I am very happy to see you again, Mr. Linden--very happy indeed,
sir! I heard from Squire Stoutenburgh that you were expected, and I
lost no time. How have you enjoyed your health, sir, this year? A
year's a long time! isn't it?"

Mr. Linden, taking his seat as in duty bound, looked abstractedly at
Faith and the spoons and the roses, and answered according to the
evidence.

"Yes, Mr. Somers,--and yet it depends very much upon how far the two
ends of the year are apart in other respects. The 'Voyage autour de ma
chambre' could never _seem_ very long, whatever time it took."

"Ha!"--said Mr. Somers blandly,--he hadn't the remotest idea what this
speech might mean,--"no. Did you have a good passage coming over? We
had every sign of it."

"Very good,"--said Mr. Linden smiling,--"and very stormy."

"Ah?"--said Mr. Somers,--"very good and very stormy? Well I shouldn't
have thought that. But I suppose you have got to be such a traveller
that you don't mind which way the wind blows, if it blows you on,
ha?--like Dr. Harrison. _He_ never minds the weather. Dr. Harrison's a
great loss to Pattaquasset too," said Mr. Somers looking at Faith and
smiling a little more openly;--"all our--ha!-