'What is it?'

'We'll make a New Year's present of it.'

'To whom?'

'Can't you think?'

'To father, or mother?'

'No, I should love to buy them something, but they would rather not.'

'To old Phillis, then?'

'Old Phillis!--it _would_ be a good notion to buy her a gown, wouldn't
it, but I was thinking of John Frink.'

'You didn't mean to give it to _him_, I hope, such an idle,
good-for-nothing boy as he is?'

'He isn't idle and good-for-nothing now, Effie. Since he began to go to
the Sunday school he's as different as can be. Now if we could put our
money together, and help him to go to school this winter (he can't even
read the Bible, Effie,) I think it would do more good than anything else
in the world.'

'Perhaps it would, but I never liked John Frink very well. He will learn
to read the Bible at the Sunday school, and if he did know any more, I'm
not sure he'd make a good use of it.'