"Lost fiddlestick! Pshaw, Fred! I supposed you were more of a man. Just because that flirt of a foreigner presented you the mitten, to give up in that way! I'm ashamed of you. If your first parish treat you ungratefully, do you intend to retire to a monastery, and say: "'I shall never try another parish; I have lost faith in them'?" "I'm afraid, after all, he isn't worthy of such a prize as my pet Helen," she soliloquized, after he had retired. "Her fresh, warm heart deserves a better return than he can give." CHAPTER X. THE REVELATION. THE months which followed were happy ones to the orphans, months to be remembered in years to come. The tenants, reluctant to relinquish so quiet a home, affected a compromise with the young owners. A part of the house was surrendered to them for their exclusive use. And nurse Johnson came to superintend their domestic arrangements, while Nannie, a good-natured, strong-armed damsel from a neighboring farm, undertook the work. Even Sybil declared nothing could be better planned; and the result proved her a true prophet. Once a week, Helen asserted her dignity as housekeeper, by insisting that the whole family from the parsonage should dine and take tea at Woodbine Cottage. What a happy time that was! How actively did she superintend the culinary operations in the kitchen. The bread must be of the lightest, the butter the sweetest, the cream the yellowest, the strawberries the freshest, for this delightful occasion. How she bustled about with sleeves rolled back and tiny white apron, to see that every apartment was in order, and the flowers arranged to the best advantage. With what a merry voice and dimpling cheeks, did she run hither and thither to answer the demands of her brother, of nurse, or of Nannie. Then when her guests had arrived, how solicitous she was to minister to their comfort, how ready to gratify their every wish, to sing and play for their entertainment. Her piano had been removed from the hall to their own private parlor; and here she conscientiously practised the lessons she had taken in the city. In the corner of the dining-room stood the easel, with the pallet and brushes near at hand. Both Helen and her brother had a decided taste for drawing, and many hours during this happy period were passed in transferring to the canvas, the views in the neighborhood, which most pleased them.