were swept up with the dust, and
thrown away by a new, careless nursery maid. But on the whole we were
rather well off, for Nurse was a patient, orderly woman, and went round
the day nursery every evening herself, picking up the pet's playthings
and putting them away.

"And as for dear little merry Lily, she grew and throve, like a
sweet-tempered child as she was, as fair as her namesake blossoms. She
had called herself "Fower" in her childish talk, because Lily was not
easily managed by her little tongue, and she had quite understood that
she was called after the pretty-looking, innocent, white flowers that
blossomed in the same month as her birthday fell in, the merry month of
May.

"One unfortunate day when we had been there some time, to the amazement
of Nurse, she got up in such a fretful, cross humour nothing would
pacify her. This was unusual, and so was her turning away from her nice
bread and milk, and crying peevishly when she was spoken to. The poor
child was evidently ailing, and Nurse lost no time in sending down word
of it to her mistress. The fond mother hurried upstairs, but little Lily
would only cling to her and sob, and bury her flushed face on her
shoulder. So the doctor was sent for in haste, and he came quickly, and
pronounced that the little one was sickening for some illness; measles,
_he hoped_, but he could not positively say. So poor Mamma sat there,
and gave Lily the medicine, and tried to amuse her with setting us in
order before her. But Lily pushed us all away so hastily that we rolled
to all corners of the room, and Nurse was too busy and sad to pick us up
in a hurry that day, or for many days after.

"For poor little Lily grew worse, and the doctor pronounced it to be
fever, and of a very severe kind. Days and days the little feverish head
tossed wearily on the pillow, and then all the golden curls were cut
off, matted as they were, and laid aside carefully in a drawer by poor
Nurse, who cried over them as if her heart would break. The fever
subsided, but the little exhausted body had not strength to recover from
it, and she grew daily weaker, quite too weak to be removed to a fresh
air. Poor Nurse picked us up one night, half unconsciously, and put us
back in the old toy drawer, where we remained, till one afternoon she
came hastily to fetch us out again. She carried us downstairs into the
beautiful bed-room where Mrs. Arden slept. But both Papa and Mamma were
too anxious about their