Faith stopped, and a slow, dreamy smile came upon her lips: "I s'pose whatever happens to me when I grow up and when I get quite old—if a earthquake shakes me, or Granny and Aunt Alice and Charity and Hope are all taken to Heaven first, and me left behind quite alone, and if the most awful things you can imagine would happen—I shall never, never be unhappy, because the Comforter will be drying my tears as fast as they come, and holding me in His Arms and loving me."
There was dead silence. A little breeze blew in at the open window, and then a red and brown butterfly flew in and alighted on the rug that covered the invalid's legs.
Childlike, Faith jumped up to look at it. Her grave talk was forgotten.
"I suppose a moth isn't as pretty as a butterfly is it? You will always call me Miss Moth, won't you? I do love it."
"Well, little Miss Moth, I'm much obliged for your dear little sermon. We'll have the rest of it another day."
The butterfly flew away, and Faith watched it alight on a rhododendron outside. Then she turned:
"Oh, dear, everybody tells me I give sermons! I don't mean to. And I'm not partickly fond of sermons myself, they're so long and dry. But I do love talking about the Comforter. Charity and Hope won't listen; they say they don't want any comfort at all. I s'pose if you're never unhappy you don't. But they do get miserable sometimes."
She stopped. Tea was being brought in, and she had the supreme joy of handling the silver teapot, and pouring out cups of tea for herself and the old man. She chattered away now of the Cottage, and of the village, and of all that she and her sisters meant to do in the summer holidays; and when the time came for her to go, she parted from her old friend with real regret.
But she was made happy by the invitation to come and spend every Saturday afternoon with him. And when she got home her tongue went fast. Charity told her that she would get sick and tired of the old invalid before long.
"It's only because he's new. After two or three weeks you'll feel quite dull, and won't want to go any more."