Violet waited and listened until the last sound of Evelina's footsteps had died away, and then she fell into a sudden reverie. Her eyes remained fixed on the rails at the foot of her bed, and she neither moved nor spoke—only now and then a little shiver seemed to pass over her, and she sighed heavily, and her eyebrows were contracted with pain.  
A sudden sense of great loneliness had come over her, and with it a swift remembrance of her dear mother, the mother who had been carried out through that very door by which Evelina had that moment passed out, and who had never returned to her any more. Ah, had she been here now, she would have listened to her cries; she would have carried her in her arms to the fountain. She would have lifted her up so tenderly, and held her tightly, oh so tightly to her breast; and together they would have listened to the angels singing.
 
[Pg 271]
 
And then again came the recollection of that dream, when the Lord Jesus had met her in the meadow, and had shown her the little lamb which he was carrying in his bosom—the little lamb with the white face, so like Violet. And she remembered the sound of his voice, as he said to her so softly, "See, she has fallen asleep, and I am going to lay her in her mother's arms."
 
Ah, if Violet could fall asleep like that poor tired lamb, and awake in the arms of her dear mother, whose face she had not seen for so long—oh so long, yes, long, long ago! Again that thrilling shiver passed over her, and the little face grew pale.
 
"Mother!" she cried—"mother! canst thou not hear me, mother? Mother! mother!" It rose higher and higher now, the wail of a child's despair.
 
But, hark! what was that other sound without? Music—voices—a burst of sudden song somewhere not far off. Violet ceased to cry, and listened with large dilated eyes, from which the pain of the past moment had not yet departed.
 
"The angels! the angels! I hear them singing!" she cried, starting up in an ecstasy of delight. "They are singing at the fountain; I can hear them. And Ella is with them, and she has wings. Ah, if some one could lift me gently and put me in my chair[Pg 272] at the window!—Kate, Kate, come to Violet; come quickly."
 
She had not long to wait for an answer to her call, for as she cried aloud for Kate, the old servant pushed open the door, and walked in. She had not come, however, at Violet's summons. She held a red-coloured envelope in her hand, and she looked round the room anxiously and somewhat angrily.
 
"So; it is just as I thought. That little conceited minx has gone out, and left the child all alone. I just caught a sight of the hat as she whirled by the window, and I knew well where it came from."
 
"Kate, Kate, listen to the angels. They are singing at the fountain. If thou speakest so loud, I cannot hear them."
 
"Ay, ay; I hear them well enough. But who is to open this telegram and tell us what is in it?"
 
"Ah, Kate, do not mind what is in it. Lift me in thy arms, dear Kate, and put me in my chair by the window."
 
"Well, have patience a moment, and I will see if I can make out the words. I am a regular blockhead at reading; but the messenger is waiting at the door to see if there is any answer, and that silly girl may not be back for an hour."
 
Kate turned a little aside, as she tore open the[Pg 273] envelope, and looked back a moment at Violet with an evident nervousness of manner.
 
"Ah, God be thanked! it is no bad news. It is from the good lady at Gützberg. She will be here this afternoon."
 
But Violet did not hear one word Kate said. A great hope was rising in her bosom. The sound of the angels' voices was drawing nearer and nearer, and she could now almost catch the very words they were singing. It was growing clear to her that the procession must be advancing up the street.
 
"Kate, Kate, where art thou going?" she cried suddenly, as the old servant moved towards the door. "Wilt thou not carry Violet across to her chair?"
 
"Yes, yes, in a moment. I am only going to the street door, and I shall be back immediately."
 
By the time she returned to the room Violet's cheeks were burning with excitement, and there was a look in her eyes which almost frightened the old servant.
 
"Lift me to the window!" she cried, almost passionately. "The angels are coming! they have wings! I must see them! they are coming up the street!"
 
Kate held out her arms quickly to the child; but her heart sank as she noticed the crimson cheeks, and the eyes which looked at her and yet did not seem[Pg 274] to see her, so full were they of some deep and overpowering excitement.
 
"Quick, quick! they are in the street!" she repeated feverishly.
 
"Ay, ay, they are in the street, that is true enough; but have patience, dear heart. There is time enough yet. They are not so near as thou thinkest."
 
Still Violet repeated the same words furiously—"Quick, quick! they are in the street! they are in the street!"—until Kate had taken her in her arms and carried her into the window.
 
"Do not put me in the chair; put me on the seat in the middle of the window," she cried eagerly, as Kate would have deposited her in her usual place. "Violet can see so much better all up and down the street, and thou canst put thy arms round me, and hold me so tightly;—is it not so, Kate?" She turned round quickly, and put her burning lips against the old woman's cheek: "The good Lord Jesus holds the sick lambs ever so closely in his arms; and I am one of his lambs, for I saw its face—oh so white!—and it was Violet's."
 
"Dear heart, she is crazed!" muttered Kate to herself.—"There now; sit down on the seat, and I will hold thee tightly, I warrant."
 
"The angels! I see them! they are dressed in white![Pg 275] They are coming nearer and nearer! Kate, canst thou not see them too?"
 
Violet clutched at the wooden box full of sweet violets, which stood on the window-sill outside, and drew herself forward with a sudden access of strength. The box, which was bound by many a cobweb to the mullioned stone, moved one inch or so, and rocked ominously. Two white pigeons, which were preening their feathers on the ledge just beside it, flew away frightened, and perched on the roof opposite.
 
"Kate, Kate, I see Ella! She is waving her hand to me; there is a crown in it. Dost thou not see?—a crown of gold. She is holding it out to me."
 
"Ay, ay; I see Miss Ella. How fat she looks; and cold too, poor child! her arms look quite blue in her thin white dress."
 
"Ah, she looks beautiful—the angels of God are all beautiful. They fly about in heaven and have no pain, Kate. And look at Ella's wings how they shine. Stand up straight, Kate, and thou wilt see better."
 
The Procession
The Procession. Page 275.
 
Kate leaned a little forward over the child's head and looked out. "Yes, yes; one would almost think that they were real. But here is another messenger coming to the door with a telegram, and there is no one downstairs to take it from him."
 
[Pg 276]
 
"Thou canst go down," cried Violet eagerly. "I am quite safe here in the window, and quite, quite comfortable."
 
"Thou art sure, dear heart?"
 
"Yes; I can hold on by the box until thou comest back."
 
Here all at once the children's voices burs............