whom she liked, and was not sorry that Phyllis would be obliged to
receive something from her hands.

The presents were both beautiful and both useful. One was a desk, the
case delicately inlaid, and the interior perfectly fitted up. The other
was an exquisitely carved and furnished work-box.

"Oh, give the desk to Phyllis; she is so much more clever than I am, and
writes so well. And I am fond of work. Oh, you are a dear to give me
such a charming present," said Nell affectionately, examining the
beautiful work-box with sparkling eyes.

Hetty was delighted.

"I chose them myself," she said with some pride; and then she took the
desk in her arms and asked Nell to show her the way to Phyllis's room.

"It is down at the end of this passage. I will show you. And you must
not mind Phyllis if she does not go into raptures like me. She is always
so well-behaved, and takes everything so quietly."

Phyllis looked greatly surprised, and not quite pleased, when, having
heard a knock at her door and said "Come in," she saw Hetty invade her
room. Her first thought was, "This foundling girl is going to be forward
and troublesome"; and Hetty was not slow to read her glance.

"I have brought you a present," she said, in quite a different tone from
that in which she had made her little speech to Nell.

Phyllis took the desk slowly, and looked at it as if she wished it had