Henrica's face made a strange impression upon the burgomaster's wife.
She thought her beautiful, but the large eyes and firmly-shut lips seemed
peculiar, rather than attractive. Yet she instantly obeyed the
physician's summons, approached the bed, said kindly that she had been
glad to come to stay with her a short time, and asked what she desired.

At these words, Henrica raised herself and with a sigh of relief,
exclaimed:

"That does me good! Thanks, Doctor. That's a human voice again. If you
want to please me, Frau Van der Werff keep on talking, no matter what you
say. Please come and sit down here. With Sister Gonzaga's hands, your
voice, and the doctor's--yes, I will say with Doctor Bontius' candor, it
won't be difficult to recover entirely."

"Good, good," murmured the physician. "Kind Sister Gonzaga's injuries
are not serious and she will stay with you, but when it is time for you
to sleep, you will be moved elsewhere. You can remain here an hour,
Frau Van der Werff, but that will be enough for to-day. I'll go to your
house and send the servant for you with a lantern."

When the two ladies were left alone together, Maria said:

"You set great value on the sound of voices; so do I, perhaps more than
is desirable. True, I have never had any serious illness--"

"This is my first one too," replied Henrica, "but I know now what it is
to be compelled to submit to everything we don't like, and feel with two-
fold keenness everything that is repulsive. It is better to die than
suffer."