Z7CYON DAYS.

morning, and goes singing like a lark to his work;
and then when he comes home at night, he'll run off to
the green for a game at trap, or such like, with the boys
there, but he's sure to come back after a while with
" Mother, have you any job for me ? for if you haven't,
I'll do a bit in the garden;' and true enough he's
made it a sweet pretty one."
 It was indeed well worthy of the pride with which
Mrs. Price evidently regarded it; there were no sweeter
or brighter flowers throughout the whole country round
than those which grew so luxuriantly in it; and the
little arbour at the end, in which the ploughman
smoked his pipe every evening, shaded as it was on
one side by a great bush of sweet-briar, and wreathed
on the other with garlands of twining purple convol-
vulus, was the pleasantest retreat imaginable.
 "I wish we could get Dick to help us with our
gardens," observed Minnie, as they walked homewards
talking of his skill and industry; they want a good
deep digging up, papa says, and we can't do it."
 "Suppose we borrow him from the gardener,"
suggested Louisa.
 "We will try," replied Miss Forster, on condi.
tion, however, that you will require him only to dig;
you must do the rest."
 "Oh yes, we'll promise that," cried both the girls
at once,
 Dick accordingly came one day to work at their
flower-beds, which, for want of proper culture and care,
were far from being at all ornamental to that part of
the grounds in which they lay-fortunately it was a
somewhat secluded spot in the shrubbery,
 "I think I've found something that keeps your
lowers from coming up well, miss," said the boy to
Minnie, when she with her sister and Miss Forster