SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
                       ----------------------------------


                                   FORM 10-K/A

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 1

                                  ANNUAL REPORT

                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                       The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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         For the fiscal year ended:                 Commission file number:
           December 31, 2003                                001-13971

                          MERRILL LYNCH DEPOSITOR, INC.
             (ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC STEERS(R) SERIES 1998 HLT-1 TRUST)
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                Delaware                                 13-3891329
             (State or other                         (I. R. S. Employer
             jurisdiction of                         Identification No.)
             incorporation)




         World Financial Center,                            10080
           New York, New York                            (Zip Code)
          (Address of principal
           executive offices)
                       ----------------------------------


       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (212) 449-1000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Public STEERS(R) Trust Certificates Series 1998 HLT-1, listed on The New York
Stock Exchange.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Not Applicable.

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the preceding 12 months (or


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for such shorter period that the Registrant was to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing for the past 90 days.

                             Yes [X]         No [ ]

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405
of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the
best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this form 10-K or any amendment to this
form 10-K.



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as
defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

                             Yes [ ]         No [X]

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held
by non-affiliates of the registrant. The aggregate market value shall be
computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was sold, or the
average bid and asked prices of such common equity, as of the last business day
of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

Not Applicable.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding for each of the registrant's class of
common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

Not Applicable.



                       DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

                                EXPLANATORY NOTE

Merrill Lynch Depositor, Inc. (on behalf of Public STEERS(R) Series 1998 HLT-1
Trust) hereby amends its Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2003 in its entirety as set forth below.

     PART I

     Item 1.   Business


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               For information with respect to the underlying securities held by
               Public STEERS(R) Series 1998 HLT-1 Trust, please refer to Hilton
               Hotels Corporation's (Commission file number 001-03427) periodic
               reports, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports
               on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and other
               information on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
               (the "SEC"). You can read and copy these reports and other
               information at the public reference facilities maintained by the
               SEC at Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20549.
               You may obtain copies of this material for a fee by writing to
               the SEC's Public Reference Section of the SEC at 450 Fifth
               Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information
               about the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the
               SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You can also access some of this
               information electronically by means of the SEC's website on the
               Internet at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and
               information statements and other information that the underlying
               securities issuer has filed electronically with the SEC.

               Although we have no reason to believe the information concerning
               the underlying securities or the underlying securities issuer
               contained in the underlying securities issuer's Exchange Act
               reports is not reliable, neither the depositor nor the trustee
               participated in the preparation of such documents or made any due
               diligence inquiry with respect to the information provided
               therein. No investigation with respect to the underlying
               securities issuer (including, without limitation, no
               investigation as to its financial condition or creditworthiness)
               or of the underlying securities has been made. You should obtain
               and evaluate the same information concerning the underlying
               securities issuer as you would obtain and evaluate if your
               investment were directly in the underlying securities or in other
               securities issued by the underlying securities issuer. There can
               be no assurance that events affecting the underlying securities
               or the underlying securities issuer have not occurred or have not
               yet been publicly disclosed which would affect the accuracy or
               completeness of the publicly available documents described above.

     Item 2.   Properties

               None.

     Item 3.   Legal Proceedings

               None.

     Item 4.   Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

               None.


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     PART II

     Item 5.   Market for Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder
               Matters

               The Trust Certificates issued by Public STEERS(R) Series 1998
               HLT-1 Trust are represented by one or more physical certificates
               registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of the
               Depository Trust Company. The Trust Certificates are listed on
               the New York Stock Exchange.

     Item 6.   Selected Financial Data

               Not Applicable.

     Item 7.   Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
               Results of Operations

               Not Applicable.

     Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

               Not Applicable.

     Item 8.   Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

               Not Applicable.

     Item 9.   Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and
               Financial Disclosure

               None.

     Item 9A.  Controls and Procedures

               The Registrant's current report on Form 8-K filed with the
               Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 2003 was filed
               late.  The Registrant's annual report on Form 10-K filed with
               the Securities and Exchange Commisssion on January 26, 2004 for
               the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, and as amended hereby,
               did not include as an exhibit (i) a trustee report on compliance
               with the Standard Terms for Trust Agreements dated February 20,
               1998, as amended, between the Registrant and the Trustee, (ii) an
               independent accountants' report attesting to management's
               assertion that the Registrant complied with its PPLUS Minimum
               Servicing Standards and (iii) a certification by the chief
               executive officer of the Registrant certifying to such compliance
               with servicing standards.  The Registrant has revised its
               procedures so as to provide reasonable assurance that its future
               Exchange Act filings will be filed within the applicable time
               periods.


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     PART III

     Item 10.  Directors And Executive Officers Of The Registrant

               Not Applicable.

     Item 11.  Executive Compensation

               Not Applicable.

     Item 12.  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
               and Related Stockholder Matters

               (a) Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation
                   Plans: None.
               (b) Security Ownership Of Certain Beneficial Owners: None.
               (c) Security Ownership Of Management: Not Applicable.
               (d) Changes In Control: None.

     Item 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

               None.

     Item 14.  Principal Accounting Fees and Services

               Not Applicable.

     PART IV

     Item 15.  Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules and Reports on Form 8-K

               (a)(1) Financial Statements: Not Applicable

               (a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules: Not Applicable

               (a)(3) List of Exhibits

               The following exhibits are filed as part of, and incorporated by
               reference into, this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A to the
               Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K:

                   31.1  Certification of President of Registrant dated March
                         30, 2004, pursuant to Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 under the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to
                         Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with


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                         respect to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K
                         for the year ended December 31, 2003.

                   99.1. Trustee's Annual Compliance Certificate dated March
                         30, 2004.

                   99.2. Independent Accountants' Report dated March 30, 2004,
                         Management's Assertion on Compliance with PPLUS Minimum
                         Servicing Standards dated March 30, 2004 and PPLUS
                         Minimum Servicing Standards.

               (b)  Reports on Form 8-K

                    Trustee's report in respect of the April 15, 2003
                    distribution to holders of the Public STEERS(R) Trust
                    Certificates Series 1998 HLT-1 incorporated herein by
                    reference as Exhibit 99.1 to Registrant's Current Report on
                    Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
                    on August 26, 2003.

                    Trustee's report in respect of the October 15, 2003
                    distribution to holders of the Public STEERS(R) Trust
                    Certificates Series 1998 HLT-1 incorporated herein by
                    reference as Exhibit 99.1 to Registrant's Current Report on
                    Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
                    on October 17, 2003.

               (c)  Exhibits

                    The Registrant hereby files as part of this Amendment No. 1
                    on Form 10-K/A to its Annual Report on Form 10-K the
                    exhibits listed in Item 15(a)(3) set forth above.


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                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

                                        MERRILL LYNCH DEPOSITOR, INC.

Date: March 30, 2004                    By:    /s/ Michael Frank Connor
                                           -----------------------------------
                                             Name:    Michael Frank Connor
                                             Title:   President