"What can it be?" exclaimed the child, peeping round it, and enjoying her anticipations.
And then John untied the string and raised the cover, while Minnie's little fingers tenderly lifted some tissue-paper, and disclosed to view a baby-doll of surpassing loveliness.
Agnes and the rest admired and exclaimed to the heart's content of the little mother, and then She took her doll away to show it to the servants.
Just then Hugh discovered that the half hour was nearly over, and started up.
"Are you not coming to church?" asked Alice.
Hugh stopped short for a moment, "Are you?" he asked.
"Yes, we are going with Aunt Phyllis."
"But I can't get out of this, Agnes, and father wouldn't mind?"
"No; he thinks Christmas-day is not like Sunday, and we need not feel bound about going to God's house as we are then; but for my own part I should like to."
"So should I," said Alice.