chief cares and triumphs of Madam
Liberality's childhood. It was with the next birthday or the
approaching Christmas in view that she saved her pence instead of
spending them, but she so seldom had any money that she chiefly relied
on her own ingenuity. Year by year it became more difficult to make
anything which would "do for a boy;" but it was easy to please
Darling, and "Mother's" unabated appreciation of pincushions, and of
needle-books made out of old cards, was most satisfactory.

To break the mystery in which it always pleased Madam Liberality to
shroud her small preparations, was to give her dire offence. As a
rule, the others respected this caprice, and would even feign a little
more surprise than they felt, upon occasion. But if during her
preparations she had given umbrage to one of the boys, her retreat was
soon invaded with cries of--"Ah! I see you, making birthday presents
out of nothing and a quarter of a yard of ribbon!" Or--"There you are!
At it again, with two old visiting cards and a ha'porth of flannel!"
And only Darling's tenderest kisses could appease Madam Liberality's
wrath and dry her tears.

She had never made a grander project for Christmas, or had greater
difficulty in carrying it out, than in the winter which followed her
visit to the seaside. It was in the house of her cousin that she had
first heard of Christmas-trees, and to surprise the others with a
Christmas-tree she was quite resolved. But as the time drew near, poor
Madam Liberality was almost in despair about her presents, and this
was doubly provoking, because a nice little fir-tree had been promised
her. There was no blinking the fact that "Mother" had been provided
with pincushions to repletion. And most of these made the needles
rusty, from being stuffed with damp pig-meal, when the pigs and the
pincushions were both being fattened for Christmas.

Madam Liberality sat with her little pale face on her hand and her
slate before her, making her calculations. She wondered what
emery-powder cost. Supposing it to be very cheap, and that she could
get a quarter of a pound for "next to nothing," how useful a present
might be made for "Mother" in the shape of an emery pincushion, to
counteract the evil effects of the pig-meal ones! It would be a
novelty even to Darling, especially if hers were made by glueing a
tiny bag of emery into the mouth of a "boiled fowl cowry." Madam
Liberality had seen such a pincushion in Podmore's work-bask