78 THE GARDEN OF A 



serve better for authority if they " (servants, not 

 vitals) "were all of the Church and came in to 

 prayers every morning as they used when I served 

 at the rectory. Then a word at all was a word 

 against the family as much as me, Mrs. Evan. Not 

 that I holds you responsible, ma'am, not at all, and I 

 feel for you, ma'am, for what can be done in a place 

 where there is no tenantry to be brought up to ser- 

 vice, and all the help comes from different places 

 and reared on disagreeing victuals, as it were? It 

 all seems as wild-like to me as Australia, where 

 my brother Joe bides, savin' the lack of those 

 jumpin' kangaroos, and I'm always expectin' them. 

 No, Mrs. Evan, on my word, I shan't contend 

 except for vitals, and no disrespect intended, ma'am." 



How steadily it rains ! a wholesome fall storm that 

 the ground absorbs. Certainly gardening makes one 

 conscious of the great variety of ways in which the 

 work of moistening the soil is done. To some people 

 all rains are alike. In the city I have never heard 

 any distinction made except that of a storm or a 

 shower. I well remember being ill one spring at 

 the planting season and listening to the rain as I 

 lay in bed. I asked a town-bred maid whom we 



