We had a beautiful day for our picnic.  November dreamed that it was May.  The air was soft and mellow, with pale, aerial mists in the valleys and over the leafless beeches on the western hill.  The sere stubble fields brooded in glamour, and the sky was pearly blue.  The leaves were still thick on the apple trees, though they were russet hued, and the after-growth of grass was richly green, unharmed as yet by the nipping frosts of previous nights.  The wind made a sweet, drowsy murmur in the boughs, as of bees among apple blossoms.

“It’s just like spring, isn’t it?” asked Felicity.

The Story Girl shook her head.

“No, not quite.  It looks like spring, but it isn’t spring.  It’s as if everything was resting—­getting ready to sleep.  In spring they’re getting ready to grow.  Can’t you FEEL the difference?”

“I think it’s just like spring,” insisted Felicity.

In the sun-sweet place before the Pulpit Stone we boys had put up a board table.  Aunt Janet allowed us to cover it with an old tablecloth, the worn places in which the girls artfully concealed with frost-whitened ferns.  We had the kitchen dishes, and the table was gaily decorated with Cecily’s three scarlet geraniums and maple leaves in the cherry vase.  As for the viands, they were fit for the gods on high Olympus.  Felicity had spent the whole previous day and the forenoon of the picnic day in concocting them.  Her crowning achievement was a rich little plum cake, on the white frosting of which the words “Welcome Back” were lettered in pink candies.  This was put before Peter’s place, and almost overcame him.

“To think that you’d go to so much trouble for me!” he said, with a glance of adoring gratitude at Felicity.  Felicity got all the gratitude, although the Story Girl had originated the idea and seeded the raisins and beaten the eggs, while Cecily had trudged all the way to Mrs. Jameson’s little shop below the church to buy the pink candies.  But that is the way of the world.

“We ought to have grace,” said Felicity, as we sat down at the festal board.  “Will any one say it?”

She looked at me, but I blushed to the roots of my hair and shook my head sheepishly.  An awkward pause ensued; it looked as if we would have to proceed without grace, when Felix suddenly shut his eyes, bent his head, and said a very good grace without any appearance of embarrassment.  We looked at him when it was over with an increase of respect.

“Where on earth did you learn that, Felix?” I asked.

“It’s the grace Uncle Alec says at every meal,” answered Felix.

We felt rather ashamed of ourselves.  Was it possible that we had paid so little attention to Uncle Alec’s grace that we did not recognize it when we heard it on other lips?

“Now,” said Felicity jubilantly, “let’s eat everything up.”

In truth, it was a merry little feast.  We had gone without our dinners, in order to “save our appetites,” and we did ample justice to Felicity’s good things.  Paddy sat on the Pulpit Stone and watched us with great yellow eyes, knowing that tidbits would come his way later on.  Many witty things were said—­or at least we thought them witty—­and uproarious was the laughter.  Never had the old King orchard known a blither merrymaking or lighter hearts.