To

command which his strong will gave him over all around of course strengthened that belief. Alice he had always been kind and indulgent, but his manner was haughty and imperious to every other. He thirsted with insatiable desire for rank; wealth, and the power which springs from wealth, he had already won, and he now sought for means to feed still more abundantly the cravings of his restless ambition.

During breakfast-time Mr. Littleton had scarcely spoken; slightly bent forward over the table, he eat without appearing to know he was eating. His eyes were fixed with an earnest but vacant gaze on the cloth, and the heavy furrow between his eyebrows showed his mind was busy with some subject which interested him deeply. At length his proud features relaxed into a faint but proud smile. His mind seemed to have cleared off the difficulties which obstructed it. He put his breakfast gently aside, and, leaning back in his chair, took up the paper. But his eyes wandered over the page without reading, and, after a few minutes, it sank slowly on to his knee; and his searching glance became fixed thoughtfully on his daughter. Alice was at the moment filling the parrot's seed-box, and did not at first observe her father's scrutiny, but looking up, at length, her eyes met his.

"Good morning, papa," with a sly half look eyes. "Hope you enjoyed

from the corners of her

your repose during breakfast-time.

You won't

forget to tell me your dreams, will you, papa dear, eh?"

Mr. Littleton made no reply. Though thinking of her he had scarcely heard her words.

Alice, with the parrot on her finger, tripped up to her father, and, dropping on both knees before him, held up the bird to his face.

"Bite him, Polly. Peck at his nose, naughty man; he wouldn't say a word. We've had all the talk to ourselves, haven't we, Polly? We both said good morning when he came down stairs, and he answered something about his ugly business in the city, didn't he, Polly?"

"Scratch a poll, Polly, scratch a poll," muttered the parrot, in an undertone, winking her little round eye. Poll was used to the treatment, and did not take it amiss when Alice perched her on Mr. Littleton's shoulder; she merely repeated Scratch a poll, said it was fine weather, and asked for a cloth, and then, without farther remark, looked down gravely from her point of observation.

"Put the bird away, Alice," said her father; "I want to speak to you."

Alice accordingly shut her favourite into the cage,

whereupon Poll began to whet her beak violently, as if preparing for some expected encounter. Then returning to her father, Alice took a seat on his knee, and folding her hands demurely before her, cast down her eyes, and waited, with a serio-comic expression, until it should please him to speak.

"How old are you?" he said, at length, rather abruptly.

"And that's what I call an exceedingly indiscreet and improper question for any gentleman to ask a lady," retorted Alice, nodding her head emphatically at each word, "and I don't mean to tell you."

66

Impertinent monkey," said Mr. Littleton, pinching her cheek, "you are sixteen the end of next month, are you not?"

"Yes, papa."

66

can

"Well now," continued he temptingly, you think of anything you would like on your birthday?"

"Oh yes, papa dear, ever so many things," and she joyfully squeezed his face between her hands and pursed up her rosy lips to kiss him.

"Well, but what? a whole family of new dolls, I suppose."

"Papa, now how can you say such things? you know I haven't played with dolls for ever so long."

"Yes, yes, of course, since yesterday. But come, now what would you like on your birthday?" "Well, let me see;" Alice looked grave, and ticked off on her fingers the various articles as she mentioned them. "I should like a watch and chain, and a bracelet; and then I want a great many things for my toilet-table-and-and several other things, papa dear, I assure you. I can't remember them all just now, but you may depend upon it I'll write them all down in time for you."

"Not the least doubt about that," said her father; "anything else, pray, besides these things you are going to write down?"

At

"No, papa." Alice hung her head, blushing, and began to play with his watch-guard. length she said, with hesitation, "I mean to say Yes, papa."

"Yes and no, silly child, what is it?"

66

Why, I want you to give me some money, a very large sum, but I want it now."

"A very modest request, truly; and pray what may you propose to do with this very large sum of money? Turn miser?”

"No."

"What then, speculate, perhaps?"

Alice raised her head, and looked imploringly into her father's face. "There's a poor woman in

the neighbourhood," she said, in a soft touching voice. "Oh, she is very poor, I assure you, papa, and weak and ill besides. Her husband died last week and left her all alone with six little children. I wish you could see them, such little tiny things; and they are so poor, so very poor." Alice stopped suddenly, as if ashamed of her feelings, and hung her head again.

"Well?" said Mr. Littleton interrogatively.

"Cook told me about them, and so I went directly. The room was quite bare, not a single thing in it, and the poor woman was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall; when she tried to get up, papa, she couldn't, she was so weak. Her little baby felt cold, and lay quite still in my arms when I took it, its limbs hung down powerless, and I thought it was gone. All the other children had crouched round their mother; but they didn't cry. They were past crying. you can't think how full my heart was when I saw their hungry eyes brighten up at the sight of me. I felt so happy, so happy." Alice put her arms round her father's neck and hid her face on his shoulder.

Oh,

"There, there, silly child," said Mr. Littleton, raising his daughter's head and looking in her face," don't cry about it. Just like you women.