SCENES XV. AND XVI

A young couple were once married, and went to live in a pretty house on the Promenade in a small country town. The house happened to be vacant at the time, and was rented for the little household by the young man's father.

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The girl's father naturally felt very grieved when his daughter agreed to accept the young man for her husband. She had copied ail his letters, and he would miss her on that account ; besides, he loved her tenderly. The daughter, too, showed much émotion at the thought of leaving her father ; so it was arranged that she should live part of the time at her old home.

The house the young people went ' to live in had a pretty garden with strawberries and plum-trees in it, and a smooth lawn, and they were very proud of it.

One day when the young wife was in the drawing-room she heard some one outside. She went to the door and found a man whose appearance at first startled her. It is hard to deseribe him. He was a little, bald-headed man, very corpulent, and he seemed to be shortsighted. He had his hat in his hand, and when he saw the lady he bowed. He asked her if her husband was at home, and when he spoke he showed that he had lost three teeth in front.

When he heard that the man of the house was not in, he said that he would wait. Then he drew from his pocket an enormous paper which he gave to the lady, saying that it was a certificate given to him by a man who had employed him as gardener. He was now looking for work. The lady listened to him, and replied that they only wanted a boy. Anyway, this was a détail of the household which she left to her husband. Perhaps she might be able to influence him if she found a worthy object. The man said that he was poor, and would be glad to get a chance to show how indefatigable he could be in his work.

When the husband returned, he agreed to take the man for a time. A few days afterwaids one of the plum-trees was found broken down, with a hole under it. The gardener had disappeared. They were very much annoyed until they heard from some neighbours that the man was an imbécile, who had escaped. He thought that he had to look for some money which was in a hiding- place, and he had an idea that this was under a tree. Going as a gardener was the ruse he employed to get into gardens. The poor man was found afterwards a long way from there, after having tramped the country, and was taken back to his home.

SCENE XVII. One day a man went with his little son to the muséum which belonged to the town in which he lived. While he was looking at

88 Exercises for Composition.

the objects of art, the boy found a knife, and in trying to open it, he eut his hand. When the father heard the child cry, he turned quickly, and accidentally knoeked down an old Roman vase.

After tying up the child's hand, he went immediately to the mayor of the town and told him of the accident. When the mayor heard of it, he said that he regretted to say that the man must give up ail hope of having himself received as a member of the academy. Anyone who could even accidentally break the fragments of another âge, was not worthy of succeeding to such an honour. When the gentleman begged the major to consider his décision, the latter said that this was his only answer. The man at once hastened home to tell the bad news to his wife.