The perambulator was filled with expensive playthings useless for an infant of six months’ old. Dolls, woolly sheep, fur cats, and gaily coloured balls with a huge box of chocolates and caramels, were piled one on the top of the other. But Mrs. Pullen’s face expressed nothing but annoyance.

“You had no right to let them take her, Nurse--you had no right to let the child out of your sight! Go back at once and bring her here to me! I am exceedingly annoyed about it!”

“Here are the young ladies, Ma’am, and you had better lay your orders on them, yourself, for they wouldn’t mind me,” said the nurse, somewhat sullenly.

In another minute Harriet Brandt, and Olga Brimont had reached her side, the former panting under the weight of the heavy infant, but with her face scarlet with the excitement of having captured her.

“O! Miss Brandt!” cried Margaret, “you have given me such a fright! You must never take baby away from her nurse again, please! As I told you last night, she is afraid of strangers, and generally cries when they try to take her! Come to me, my little one!” she continued, holding out her arms to the child, “come to mother and tell her all about it!”

But the baby seemed to take no notice of the fond appeal. It had its big eyes fixed upon Miss Brandt’s face with a half-awed, half-interested expression.

“O! no! don’t take her away!” said Harriet, eagerly, “she is so good with me! I assure you she is not frightened in the least bit, are you, my little love?” she added, addressing the infant. “And nurse tells me her name is Ethel, so I have ordered them to make her a little gold bangle with ‘Ethel’ on it, and she must wear it for my sake, darling little creature!”

“But, Miss Brandt, you must not buy such expensive things for her, indeed. She is too young to appreciate them, besides I do not like you to spend so much money on her!”

“But why shouldn’t I? What am I to do with my money, if I may not spend it on others?”

“But, such a quantity of toys! Surely, you have not bought all these for my baby?”

“Of course I have! I would have bought the whole shop if it would have pleased her! She likes the colours! Little darling! look how earnestly she gazes at me with her lovely grey eyes, as if she knew what a little beauty I think her! O! you pretty dear! you sweet pink and white baby!”

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