BRAMPTON-AMONG-THE- OSES.
 and across like the bottom of a large sieve, and told
 her that those strong wire-like fibres in time destroyed
 the roots of everything they entangled, unless it was
 a large tree that required no nourishment from its
 upper roots. He cleared every morsel of the couch
 out, and told her that if he only left one inch of fibre
 that was alive in the ground, it would take root.
 "Poor dear old rose-tree! It might well not
 bloom with such a quantity of couch binding it down
 and round about in all directions. I wonder how it
 found room enough for its roots to keep alive at all,
 such a load of couch fibres as it had to support,"
 said Christabel when she saw the piled-up barrow-
 load of weeds the old gardener wheeled away to the
 heap which would be burned. How kind you are,
 Jacob, to take all that pains to please me and save the
 old rose-bush, which I shall never look at without
 thinking how hard you worked to restore it."
 Nay, it is through thy tender care of all things,
that it is saved," replied the God-fearing old gardener;
"if I had found it, and looked for it to bear roses, as
thou hast done, I should have been like the impatient
man our Saviour mentions in one of His blessed para-
bles, and said, 'Cut it down, why cumbereth it the
ground ?' but thy pleading caused me to dig about
it,' and though it would have died, had it been
neglected much longer, I feel sure that it will now
recover, as I have cleared the twitch from all the fibres
that are young and healthy, and I have no doubt that
by another summer it will bear roses as beautiful as
King Solomon praised in his Songs."
 Long lafore dark winter drew her curtains upon
the short afternoon to shut out the day, the rose-
bush had put out a few green leaves, which the frosty
weather withered up to clear a way for those spring