ber, in a great hurry to perform this office, partly because, as Master Herbert said, "she thought it grand to play at being aunt Sophia." "Now girls," cried she, "here are some tickets for you with numbers, you're to take one a-piece without first looking at them, and then, when I call out the numbers one by one, you'll get those things which are marked with your number on the tree. Do you understand? Now begin, then. Number three. Who's got number three?" A girl was springing forward, but at this moment a loud cry burst from Jane, "My hymn-book, Joe's hymn-book," she exclaimed. "Who's been touching that? Miss Kate told me to put it on this side-table, and I did; but look at its leaves, its gilt leaves, they're all bent, and-oh the picture, the beautiful little picture, it's been all tore out, see, see! And sure enough when she held it up, we saw that several of the leaves were bent, and that the frontispiece had been torn by some unknown hand. Like many another girl in similar circumstances, Jane went into a violent rage, stamped, stormed, and declared she would know who had done it. "I dare say, though, it's Esther Lloyd," cried she, "she's a nasty, spiteful thing, and she did it on purpose to tease me."

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Poor Kate, how pale she turned! she was evidently quite unused to such scenes. I'm sure," said she,. "Esther didn't do so naughty a thing; now did you, Esther?"

"No, I didn't," said Esther, turning away her head. "Yes, ma'am, she did, though," said Phoebe, coming forward and beginning to sob; "she and I-we tore it together."

"You naughty girl," Jane began, but I stopped her by a sign, and Phoebe continued, "I was looking at the picture, and Esther came and wanted to snatch the book from my hand, and I would'nt let it go, and somehow the picture got tore between us, but we did'nt mean to do it, indeed." But why did'nt you come forward at once and tell what you'd done,” said I, “that would have been the right thing to do."

"Yes, but we got frightened, and Esther took the picture out altogether and put it in her pocket-its there now; she wanted to hide it just for a time."

My dears, I hope I shall never see you look as Esther did when she drew the picture out of her pocket; she didn't cry, she tried to look as if she didn't care, but I knew from her face how wretched she was feeling, to stand, as it were, disgraced before us all.

I

"My dear, how could you say you didn't do it?" said I. "Yes, what will aunt Sophia say," cried Miss Celia, "to tell a .” Happening, however, to catch my eye, she stopped suddenly and turned red, though I thought that nobody but I heard Esther's muttered words. didn't do worse than her, for she said she didn't blow the candle out." Meantime Jane had snatched her crumbled picture, and was trying to smooth it. "It 'll never do," she cried, "its all spoilt, poor Joe; no, Phœbe King, I won't shake hands, you and Esther are both bad girls; I'll tell governess of you, and will never speak to you again."

"My dear child," said I, taking her aside, "is that the way to speak? I heard you say you liked Bible stories just now; do you learn from them nothing better than this, do they not teach you to be kind and forgiving to those who have injured you?"

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Yes, but I can't think of them now," said Jane, hanging down her head.

"Ah, but you can if you try. It is easy enough to think of them, as long as you've no temptation to act contrary to their teaching, I own; but ought you to drive them from your mind just at the very moment when you've most need to remember them? Come, now, go and make friends with Phoebe ; I'm sure she's very sorry, and so is Esther too, though she will not own it."

"Oh dear,” said Miss Kate, heaving a deep sigh, “I did think to have pleased you so, by giving you that book, and I can't bear to see you quarrel so about it. Oh, how I wish mama were here to set you to rights." These words set me thinking of Mrs. Fortescue; I had got a fancy into my head-however, you'll see what it was by and by. For a moment or two I forgot myself, and after that I was called away to assist Miss Celia in taking the articles from off the tree, so I didn't at first see whether my words had had any effect on Jane or

not; however, when I again glanced in her direction, I saw that she and Phoebe had got their arms round each other, and were turning over the hymn-book, quite in a friendly way. As for Esther, she was sulking in a corner, in silence. And now the calling of the numbers began one by one; the smiling girls came forward to receive their Christmas gifts, and I saw many a glance up at the tree, to discover whether this or that little thing, which they had particularly admired, would fall

to their share.

"Number two," cried Miss Celia. "Who's got number two? Oh, it's you, is it, Sarah Blunt? Well, here are your presents then. Isn't that needle-book a beauty? Aunt Sophia made it. Number six. Who's got number six? Why, how funny," she added, laughing; "no one answers. Has no one got it then?"

Yes, some one had: in another minute Esther stepped forward, and received her gifts in total silence. I thought she was going to sulk again, but instead of that she went straight to Jane and thrust an ornamental sugar plum box into her hand, saying only, "For your brother, you know."

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"I don't want it, Joe does not eat sugar plums much" said Jane shortly.

"Oh but do take it," said Miss Kate," she'll be so vexed if you don't, it's such a pretty box, and I'm sure she's sorry, are you not Esther?”

Esther didn't say she was, but she again held out the box while the great tears came into her eyes, so Jane took the sugar plums at last, even expressing a few blunt thanks, and I have heard it said that the two girls have been better friends ever since. I can't tell you how glad I was to observe such good feeling in Esther at last, still I think she would have been happier, and that her school-fellows would have loved her more, if she could have made up her mind to say that she was sorry for having acted wrong. Never fancy it degrades you to own a fault, my dears; remember it is the humble "who will be exalted."

(To be continued.)

WHAT JACK DID WITH HALF-A-CROWN.

(Continued from page 4.)

CHAPTER II.

BEFORE Jack had drawn his little sister far along the road beyond the houses of the town, they met a man with a hand-cart, the contents of which had great attractions for both of them. He was a locomotive confectioner, and his vehicle, which he pushed before him, contained a large store of cakes, oranges and apples, besides peppermint sticks and drops, Gibraltar rock, and other sweet things, well known to children of all ages. Jack stopped to have a good look at the riches as they were wheeled slowly past him, and when the vendor, not thinking the ragged boy looked much like a customer, asked him in rather a contemptuous tone, "has't got a penny to spend this morning, lad?" Jack could not resist the temptation of exhibiting his halfcrown. The hand-cart came to a stop directly, and the man questioned him roughly, thinking he must have stolen it. Jack's account was so clear and simple, however, that the suspicions were soon allayed, and then the question was, "What'll thou spend it on?" "I wunnot spend it," said Jack, "I'll take it and show mother." This did not suit the purposes of the itinerant trader, and he accordingly used all his arts to excite Jack's appetites-even giving him a taste of some of his most tempting delicacies. The poor boy was sorely tried; he looked at his money again and again, tried to realise the astonishment of his mother when she saw it, wondered whether two shillings would not surprise her more, examined carefully the sugar-candy, and the drops and cakes, and at last persuaded himself that Polly would like some, while the fact was, he liked it, and Polly cared more about the fields and flowers. But the half-crown was changed, threepence was spent on cakes and other eatables; and when Jack once more pulled his sister onward, the two shillings were hidden in some secret recess of his ragged garments, and the three pennies were grasped in the hand where the halfcrown had lain before.

Turning down a short lane and pushing his waggon

through a gap in the hedge, Jack entered the fields. Too near a smoky town to be real country, they were yet very pleasant to those little town-bred children. A public foot-path crossed one end, black to the eye but dry to the feet, composed of cinders. Diverging from this, he lifted Polly out of her carriage, and placed her beside the bank, on which, here and there, were tufts of primroses, interspersed with light coloured, scentless violets. At the top of the bank, was a stunted hedge, and on one side ran a little brook, quite on a small scale-Jack could jump over it in some places but as it bubbled on its way with a busy little murmur, it formed an object of interest to Polly. And ever since Jack had found on its border some fine marsh marigolds, which they had agreed in calling "big buttercups," she had delighted herself with thinking what wonders would come to light, could that brook be explored along all its course. In this corner, the children played happily for half-an-hour; but Jack soon found the trouble of being rich. It was a favourite pastime to load Polly's waggon with butter-cups and daisies, and he generally showed himself very expert in gathering with both hands at once; but now that his right hand was occupied with his threepence, and that he had to pause every few minutes to see if his shillings were safe, the business went on but slowly. There was great delay, too, occasioned by the repeated division of cakes, which was absolutely necessary, and the renewal of the supply of peppermint drops, with which Jack liked to keep his own mouth, and his sister's also, constantly furnished. For these reasons, the store of gathered flowers was not a large one, when they were interrupted by the arrival of three boys, somewhat bigger than Jack. One of the new-comers had three halfpennies, and the other two were consequently in a state of depression at their own poverty, while the capitalist was for the time highly exalted. This boy, named Dennis, was well known to Jack, and not liked by him, as he often wanted to teaze Polly when they met, and it required all Jack's courage and activity successfully to defend his sister. On the present occasion, however, Dennis took no notice of