58 OUT-OF-TOWN PLACES. 



And they get the air get the air (by a little for- 

 getfulness 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 peppers to the same 

 atmospheric conditions in the forcing frame. The 

 result is that Lackland buys his first salads in the 

 market, and his first peas 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 proper- 

 ties. 



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

 land, at last, " our neighbors are all before us, Pat- 

 rick ? " 



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

 cowld, sir. Wait till July, sir, and you'll see vigi- 

 tables," 



And Patrick grubs away with a great deal of 



