The old man stopped from his work, as the musing figure of his guest darkened the prospect before him, and said:
"A pleasant time, Sir, for the gardener!"
"Ay, is it so . . . you must miss the fruits and flowers of summer."
"Well, Sir,—but we are now paying back the garden, for the good things it has given us.—It is like taking care of a friend in old age, who has been kind to us when he was young."
Walter smiled at the quaint amiability of the idea.
"'Tis a winning thing, Sir, a garden!—It brings us an object every day; and that's what I think a man ought to have if he wishes to lead a happy life."
"It is true," said Walter; and mine host was encouraged to continue by the attention and affable countenance of the stranger, for he was a physiognomist in his way.
"And then, Sir, we have no disappointment in these objects:—the soil is not ungrateful, as,
