was three miles farther. There was no coach to take us there, so we had to walk. It was rather a long walk for a little boy who was already tired; but it was a change from riding, so we managed pretty well.

As we shall take this walk again before we return home, I will not say anything about it in this long letter. I shall only say that we reached grandfather's house early in the evening, and that though your brother was very glad to see all his kind friends there, he was quite ready to go to bed and to sleep.

I am sure my little girl will be pleased to hear that her father and brother are quite well; and she will remember who it is that keeps us in health and safety, whether we are at home or abroad.

"May she ever know and fear Him,

Trust and love him all her days;
Then go, dwell for ever near him,

See his face and sing his praise."

CHAPTER V.

THE FIRST DAY AT GRANDFATHER'S.

"FATHER, I think that is a very long letter you are writing."

"I shall soon have finished it," said George's father. "But, you know, I promised your sister I would write a long letter to her; and I think you would not wish to deprive her of it, would you?"

"No, father; only-only I am tired of looking at these books. I should like to go out into the garden."

"Well, you may go into the garden; and when I have done writing I will come to you there."

George went into the garden; and there he found his grandmother, who walked and talked with him until his father had written the letter.

This was the morning after the journey; and George had not so far got over the fatigue of it as to care to take a long walk. Mr. Hardy, therefore, had chosen this time for writing the promised letter to his little Emma.

As soon as George saw his father coming towards him in the garden, he left his grandmother's side, and ran to him shouting with great glee, "Oh, father, you do not know what I have eaten, do you?"

"No, I certainly do not," his father replied; "but if your grandmother gave it to you, I dare say it was very good. What

was it?"

"There were more than one," said George; "and they were-roaring lions."

"I think this is a riddle," said Mr. Hardy; "for a roaring lion would be rather more likely to eat you, than to let you eat him. You must tell me more about it before I can understand you."

"Would you like to have one, father?"

"I will say, yes. What is good for a little boy, will also, I think, be good for his father." Then George led his father to some gooseberry-bushes, which were loaded with very fine, large, ripe gooseberries.

66

"There," he said; "there are the roaring lions." "Ah," said Mr. Hardy; now I see what you mean; and I too will venture to eat a roaring lion."

Then George's father gathered two or three of the gooseberries, and ate them. They were indeed very large-larger than he remembered ever to have seen gooseberries—and they were very sweet and nice. When he had eaten them, he said—" But now, George, can you tell me why these gooseberries are called roaring lions ?"

George could not tell, only that his grandmother had said that that was their name. He asked his father if he could tell him.

"I suppose because they are very large and noble-looking gooseberries. There was a time when, in this country, there were only two or three sorts of this fruit-perhaps only one; and these were very small and sour. This was when very little attention was paid to gardening. But when people began to cultivate gardens, and to take pleasure and find profit in the employment, they found out that by pains, and patience, and skill, they could improve the size and flavour of the few fruits they possessed, and produce new varieties. This is done by pruning, grafting, and manuring, and also by sowing the seeds of fruit. Then when a gardener had in this way obtained a new sort of any fruit, he gave it also a new name-sometimes his own name, and sometimes some highsounding name-that it might be known from every other sort. Most likely the person who first called this sort of gooseberry the roaring lion,' thought it a very capital name for such large fruit. This puts me in mind of something I should like to say to you this evening before you go to bed; but now we are keeping grandmother waiting. Let us walk round the garden with her."

In the yard at the back of grandfather's house was a large stable; and over the stable was a loft, in which hay had been kept when there were horses in the stable below.

But

as George's grandfather did not keep horses, the loft was used as a place to keep old furniture and boxes. George had been told by his grandmother that he might go into this loft and play with whatever he could find there. This was good news to George, especially because to get into the loft he had to climb up a ladder, and crawl through a trapdoor; and he soon made use of the permission. While his father and grandmother were walking in the garden he ran to the loft, and was heard no more of for some time. But about an hour afterwards, as Mr. Hardy was passing through the yard, he heard his little boy shout out, "Oh father, father, do come up into the loft, and see what I have found, and what I have built."

So Mr. Hardy climbed up into the loft to see what was to be seen.

There was an old chest of drawers in the loft, and George had opened one of the drawers, and found it full of playthings. There were marbles and balls, cricket-bats and stumps, and I cannot tell all that was there besides; but among the other things, were a dozen or more little brass cannon on wooden stands. These were the things which had taken George's fancy so much; and he had been very busy building a castle, so that the cannons might be placed on the top of it. This had not been a very difficult job for the little boy, for there were plenty of old boxes,