ADVICE FOR LACKLAND 



forget fulness on the part of Patrick) night as 

 well as day; the peppers and egg-plants, after 

 a fortnight more of expectation, do not 

 appear. 



"How 's this, Patrick? no start yet." 



"And are ye sure the seed 's good, sir?" 



"It 's all Thorburn's seed." 



" Then, of course, it ought to be good, sir ; 

 but, ye see, there 's a dale o' chatery now-a- 

 days, sir." 



In short, Lackland's man Patrick is a good- 

 natured blunder-head, who knows no better 

 than to submit his young cauliflowers and pep- 

 pers to the same atmospheric conditions in the 

 forcing frame. The result is that Lackland 

 buys his first salads in the market, and his first 

 pears in the market, and his first 

 beets in the market. All these creep along 

 very slowly under Patrick's supervision, and 

 the onion seed is fairly past hope, being buried 

 too deep for the sun to have any influence 

 upon its germinating properties. 



"But how is this," says the long-suffering 

 Lackland, at last, "our neighbors are all before 

 us, Patrick?" 



"Well, sir, it 's me opinion that the land is 

 a bit cowld, sir. Wait till July, sir, and you '11 

 see vigitables." 



65 



