water, and rubbed herself dry with the warm towels that lay on the bench. That done she jumped on the dry bit of carpet, and looked for her clothes. Good gracious! what had she done! The clothes of a lady appeared where her little things should have been! and a chignon of long black curls hung over the looking glass, while a puff box and brushes and combs occupied a little ledge!

Just then came thump, thump, thump at the door! Daisy trembled, and dared not open it.

"Let me in!" called a deep, determined voice. "Bathing woman, there's a thief in my machine?" Then came the bathing woman and called out:

"If yer don't undo this 'ere door, I'll 'ave a perliceman !" Horror of horrors! Daisy tremblingly cried through the door

"Oh! please Mrs bathing-woman, I made a mistake, and I've no clothes! ask the governess for some of my things, and I'll come out directly."

"Well I never! if it ain't one of Mrs Norris's new young ladies! you'll 'ave your things directly, Miss. The poor little dear was frightened, 'mum!"

"Tiresome little pest!" growled the angry owner of the chignon.

In a few minutes Daisy was dressed, and had joined the other girls, who all laughed at her till she was ashamed, and Miss Walker said she had been very foolish, and even Lily, while affectionately squeezing her sister's hand, and smoothing her tangled hair out over her shoulders, whispered

"I wish you had been brave, Daisy! we had such fun in the water; you will like it next time, won't you?"

But just then Lily got no satisfactory answer, for Daisy's eyes were fixed on the large jewish-looking woman, who now emerged from the machine in which she had taken refuge, and was sailing gracefully away; while the long black ringlets which adorned her head, were, in Daisy's honest eyes, a very grave deceit.

CHAPTER V.

CLARA COGAN-THE EXAMINATION.

F course the rose trees went to school, but it was by no means easy to find a safe place for them in the long room which the twins shared with three other children and Miss Walker. Very anxiously

they often thought of their plants when they should

have been thinking of their lessons; and they were in daily dread that they would find one or other of the pots upset when they went up to tidy themselves for dinner, for they knew the servants had a great many rooms to do, and might not care to have the additional trouble of moving two flower pots daily to dust the table on which they stood; but in some way, by a few of the courteous words their mother had taught them always to use in speaking to servants, the twinsisters had found a soft corner in the heart of Susan, the head housemaid; and she respected their property

in a painstaking manner; this I am afraid would not have been the case if Miss Clara Cogan, or one or two other arrogant and uncivil young ladies had been concerned, for by them poor Susan's temper was sorely tried. Lily's rose was nearly past blooming now, but had given her many beautiful buds and flowers; and she now watched Daisy's with renewed interest, and one day when they were both examining it, and for a wonder were alone in the room, Lily said

"Don't you wish mama could be back to have the first blossom, Daisy?"

"Ah! don't I? but oh! Lily, I shall be so glad when mama's next letter comes! How terrible it would be if she never found that!"

"Found what?" said a voice behind them, and turning two startled faces, the children saw Clara Cogan standing behind them. She was a good deal older than them, and little girls at school stand in some awe of big girls, but still Mrs Morton's little girls felt they must not tell their mother's secret; and they blushed and were silent.

"Dumb?" asked Clara, rudely.

"N-o-o," said Lily, hesitatingly.

"But we don't want to tell you!" announced Daisy, a defiant spirit roused within her.

'Really! that is plain speaking, certainly! By the way, I suppose your father had a place called Firmount, hadn't he?"

Now as this was the name of their lost Australian

home, neither Daisy or Lily could deny it, and the latter said,

"Yes."

"I thought so!" said Miss Cogan, with a toss of the head, and a disagreeable laugh—" why my father's money built that place! It's where we live now."

It was a good thing Miss Walker arrived just then to hurry the twins down to lessons, or I fear their mother's secret would have been revealed, for their hearts were very sore at the insolent manner of the vulgar young Australian. Miss Walker eyed her coldly, for she knew her ways were unpleasant to the younger ones, and she said,

"You have no right in this room, Miss Coganit is against the rules."

"In-deed!" replied Clara, and she sauntered slowly along the passage to her own private room, for although many favours were shewn her, she knew she dared not directly break a rule of the school.

Clara

Some days after an Australian mail came in, but it was too soon for the little Mortons to hear. got a thick letter, and a newspaper in which was a long and flattering account of a great entertainment lately given by her father at Fir-mount. Her pride was so inflated by this, that she joined the school party before tea, when she might have been sitting grandly in the drawing-room, and condescended to read aloud the full particulars relating to her home magnificence! Some little girls listened with their mouths open and their eyes very round; and one of them said,