A- PLANTING- VISITOE. 
off than JoneSj for they have told him, if he is not 
pleased with his pay, he can leave.” Mr. Brown be-' 
gan to feel quite cheerful. Who knows, ” thinks 
he, I could only get down those awful weeds, but 
I might get ^next year.’” So, like the pro-' 
pnetor, the superintendent under all his difficulties 
looks forward to and consoles himself with bright 
prospects for next year. I wonder if it isV' so with 
the cooly. I rather- think not his time is the pre- 
sent. When Mr*. Brown came in to his breakfast^ 
one morning, at 10 o’clock, he w’as somewhat startled 
at seeing the three-legged chair occupied. ‘ ‘ Hallo, 
Robertson, is this you? Very glad to see you come at 
last, after having promised so long.” Mr. Robert- 
son held out his hand, but said iiothiog p he put 
his chin between his hands, his elbows on his knees, 
and sat gazing into the verandah, quite absorbed, as 
if he saw something crawling on the mud floor ; 
perhaps he did not likely notice anything, however, 
unless he felt it, for his thoughts were afar. At last 
it all came out. Mr. Robertson had got the ‘‘sack,” 
and had left the estate. Of course he was a very ill- 
used man. Messrs A. B. C. & Co. had used him 
very^'badly. It was a very long story, and there 
seemed to be no end to it. Mr. Brown nodded and 
said yes and no occasion?^lly, bnt he said to himself,, 
‘ ‘ I expected this long ago, I wonder it did not ’ take 
place sooner. It was now Mr. Brown’s turn to be- 
come quite absorbed. When he said he was very glad 
to see Robertson, he was under the impression he had 
come on a frienrlly visit for the day, but now circum- 
stances*vrere quite altered. Mr. Robertson was evidently 
come for some indefl’dte period of stay. He had lost 
his situation, he had no money, and there was little 
likelihood of his procuring another place soon. Mr. 
Brown was a good haud at arithmetic, and he mentally 
calculated that his increase of^ pay, £20 per annum, 
was £1 13s.. 4d. per month — ^a sum quite insufficient to 
keep a visitor, but he became rather ashamed of him- 
self, at the sordidiK view his mind had taken of the 
subject, and endeavoured to banish it altogether, but 
it would crop up. “Breakfast ready, sar,” says the 
boy — and down they sit. An apology is made for the 
poor fare : rice and pumpkin curry — no, it was plan- 
tain, Mr. Robertson humbly submitted anything was 
good enough for him ; he had^no appetite. However 
it just required a beginnings for he. ate a great deal 
more than Mr. Brown. 
After breakfa-t, he helped himself to tobacco out of 
the plate on the tab'e, as he had forgotten to bring 
his own, and it was not worth while going back for 
it, He lay in bed until very late in the day : indeed,. 
