ISO THE FLORIST. 



my sto^5^ I was now a sober man, a steady man ; and as to work, 

 it never frightened me. I was always at it ; and the squire saw this 

 and left things in the gardens and grounds pretty much to me. 

 People saw this ; and where they used to call me James, or Gregory, 

 now they called me "iMr. Gregory." The Bible says true enough, 

 " Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." 

 I began to take on ; and if the squire gave me any orders, I did not 

 take 'em as I ought to have done. If he had a plan, 1 had a plan ; 

 if he wanted any thing done, I was just going to do it, only some- 

 thing or other: and then I was often saying, at such times, "I'm 

 sure I'm always at work; I do the best I can," and the like. I 

 little thought what was coming, and all of a sudden too. One 

 evening when I went in as usual with my book at the end of the 

 month, after the squire had looked it over, he turned full to me, and 

 lifting his spectacles off his nose, said ; " Gardener, I wish you to get 

 another place : I give you a month's notice, and I'll iiive you a month's 

 pay beside ; but in a month the man I've taken on will be here. You 

 want your way in every thing, and I'll have my own. If you do all 

 you can, you are always telling me so ; and I want a man that '11 re- 

 collect that I do my part too." My eyes flew open like a pair of 

 window-shutters, and I saw all as clear as if I'd just come out of a 

 wood : but it was no use asking him to let me stay with him ; he 

 heard all I had to say, but still the same answer, " My new man will 

 be here in a month." 



I never shall forget my walk back to the cottage, nor all I felt 

 when I told my wife that I was to go, and when 1 looked at the 

 children as they lay asleep in their little beds. I couldn't read the 

 chapter in the Bible that night, as I always used to do ; but my wife 

 took the book, and said, " The more trouble, the more need of some- 

 thing to mend it." But, poor thing, her voice was so choky, I 

 couldn't have understood her if I'd hstened, which I couldn't do at all. 



Time never went faster than it did that black month. I couldn't 

 hear of any place ; or if I did, I couldn't get it ; for 'twas not easy to 

 get one after leaving our squire. People always thought there must 

 be something wrong, though I shewed a good character from him ; 

 and at last I was obliged to turn out of my happy home into a bit of 

 a cottage in the village. I made it as late as I could before we went 

 in ; and how strangely I did feel, as the children ran up and down the 

 ricketty old stairs, so pleased with a new place; and the canary sung so 

 loud, whilst our hearts were so heavy. Next morning I got up early, 

 and dug up the bit of garden, and put that to rights, and tied in the 

 honeysuckle in front of the house : and my wife, she cleaned the 

 windows, and made all as tidy as we could ; for we wanted people to 

 see that we weren't idle folks, though I was out of place. 1 let the 

 little shopkeeper know too, and asked him to tell others for me, that 

 I was willing to do a job for any body, till I got another situation; 

 and so I got jobbing work here and there in gardens, or at trees, 

 with the farmers, and other people that didn't keep regular gardeners. 

 But no one knows how my heart ached to see our little savings going, 

 and my wife wearing down with work and illness among the children ; 



