med, uncomprehendingly,
"something you work with. That isn't a needle."

"Well, I don't know whether a giant ever worked with it," the
policeman said, with a comical smile; "anyhow, that's what they call
the needle. It's come a long way to England, and belonged to a lady
called Mrs. Cleopatra. What she did with it isn't exactly known; but
I reckon she didn't make her gowns with it."

Phyllis looked at it with a very great feeling of disappointment. She
didn't think it looked nice at all.

"Them other things you talked of, too," said the policeman, "there's
most everything to be found in London; but not quite that neither.
The church comes the nighest----"

Phyllis uttered a cry of joy, and darted away: opposite her stood
Donald, Jennie, and Grace.

"Phyllis, you naughty, naughty child! what is the matter? and Effie
too! Why, what does it mean?" Jennie cried.

"They were pretty nigh to being lost, miss," the policeman said,
gravely. "'Tis a good thing you happened to come this way."

Donald thanked the man very heartily, and took charge of the
children. He had not the heart to scold them yet.

Phyllis walked home with a heart full of tumult. Directly she was
safely indoors she burst out crying, and said, "I do not like London:
it is a horrid, dreadful, ugly place, and no beautiful things at all;
and, oh, I do want to go home!"

"Be quiet, little stupid!" Jennie said, shortly, giving her a push
and a shake.

"It's horrible," persisted Phyllis. "We can't live here. We must go
home."

Jennie threw herself down on a chair by the bedside, and began to cry
too. "It isn't half as bad for you, Phyllis, as it is for me," she
cried, crossly; "and we can't go back. We must live in one of these
pokey, dingy houses for ever and ever. If only I'd known what it was
like!"

By-and-by their mother came home, and was amazed to see the change
that had come over the children. Still, she was able to console them
a little by telling them that London would look very different when
the fog was gone, and that they would have by-and-by a nice quiet
house, with a little garden; but their old home was out of the
question. That was gone for ever. They must learn to be cheerful and
content.

What a hard lesson it was at first! but dear me, after a while the
children grew quite happy, although they never found the enchanted
city.

But they found something better, after a short time, and that was a
kind, bright, happy, cheerful _ho