lined
to think it is a doll, my dear,' he added, as Flora sat up and took the
box, her thin hands trembling with eager joy, and her sallow face
flushing at the sight. When I was revealed to her, she gave one
rapturous exclamation, and hugged me affectionately to her.

"'O Papa, a doll, a real Baby Doll, and dressed in such lovely clothes!
Did you ever see anything so beautiful! Oh, how kind of Lady Ennismore.
I suppose she had some down for Lady Alicia to choose from.'

"'It was very thoughtful and kind of her to remember you, Flora, and I
must go and thank her for the great pleasure she has given you.'

"Then nurse was summoned, and expected to go over all the beauties of
the new doll half a dozen times at least; my hair, my eyelashes, and my
dimpled neck and arms received their full share of admiration. Nothing
could have more enraptured Flora, for she was the greatest baby
worshipper in the parish, and many a poor little nursling owed most of
its occasional treats to the petitions of Flora. And so now my happy
life began. I was carefully nestled up every night on a soft pillow,
covered with a fine pocket-handkerchief, and only handled and nursed in
the most careful way in the world. I lived with little Flora Stewart for
six years, and was in nearly as good condition at the end of the time as
at first. It is true, my complexion was somewhat tarnished by the air
and dust, and my hair had become a little thinner, but no careless
scratch defaced my countenance, or awkward fracture had injured my frail
limbs. My fine muslin frock, indeed, had been frequently washed, and my
hat cleaned and re-trimmed, while a pretty silk mantle added to my
wardrobe, hid a good deal of the faded hue of my azure decorations. But
for the last two years I had been laid away carefully in a drawer, for
Flora had long ceased playing with me, and valued me more as a treasure
of her childish days than anything else. She was now a tall, slender
girl of nearly eighteen, having by the aid of all the watchful care
spent on her earlier years quite outgrown the tendency to disease that
had so threatened her childhood. She had grown up with the same sweet,
unselfish nature though, and old affection for little children that had
been so remarkable even in her early years; only that now she was able
to be out among them all, and she might frequently be seen, the centre
of a group of eager school children, all striving for her notice, while
the babes in the