* "Thorndale; or. Conflict of Opinion".

"Oh! the rapture of beauty, of sweetness, of sound, That succeeded that soft, gracious rain! With laughter and singing the valleys rung round, And the little hills shouted again.

"The wind sunk away like a sleeping child's breath, The pavilion of clouds was upfurl'd; And the sun, like a spirit triumphant o'er death. Smiled out on this beautiful world.

"On this ' beautiful world' such a change had been wrought By these few blessed drops. Oh! the same On some cold stony heart might be work'd too, methought, Sunk in guilt, but not senseless of shame!

"If a few virtuous tears, by the merciful shed, Touch'd its hardness, perhaps the good grain That was sown there and rooted, though long seeming dead, Might shoot up and flourish again.

"Oh! to work such a change! - by God's grace to recall A poor soul from the death-sleep! To this - To this joy that the angels partake, what were all That the worldly and sensual call bliss! "

Mrs Southey.

So much for the charms of a summer shower, and the ideas suggested by it. But even in bleak, dull weather, there is always something to be done in the garden for which such weather is requisite; and surely, as the author of the "Manse Garden" remarks:-" Not a little may be said for an occupation that can make a November drizzle more cheering than the sunny dews of May." That gardening does so sometimes, will be admitted by all who have had favourite shrubs to transplant at that season.

There are so many excellent works on gardening, both of a popular and scientific nature, that any one who wishes to study the subject will find all he wishes to know, and a good deal more, in these books; but the good rule, "Try it yourself," is still applicable, if we really wish to enjoy the garden. It seems rather a discouraging hint to set out with, but I suspect it is a true one, that we must submit to learn by failure. Somehow these disagreeable lessons make a deeper impression on us, set us to discover the cause of the failure, and produce forethought in a way no other experience does. I believe, however, that many disappointments in gardening might be avoided by amateurs, (I presume only to write for such,) if they would moderate their desires, and would not expect that unskilled labour should produce results equal to the efforts of an experienced gardener; that hothouse flowers should flourish in a greenhouse without a fire, or that beds and borders should be always in a blaze of beauty, when they can afford neither time nor money sufficient to keep them in such a state of high culture. There is wisdom in not attempting too much, and there is pleasure too in being thus "content with such things as we have;" for, however it may be in other matters, it does not hold true of gardening, that "In great attempts 'tis glorious even to fail."

This is one reason why I feel inclined to recommend possessors of small gardens, who are unable to keep a regular gardener, not to be too hasty in discarding the old-fashioned mixed border, and adopting in its stead beds of flowers. There are many arguments in favour of the mixed border, such as, that it is never empty; that hardy plants, which need little cultivation, grow there; that blanks are more easily filled up when they occur; and that to most people there is a pleasure in going year after year to the same spot, sure of finding there the old favourite plant, either beginning to bud, or in full blow, and of thus forming, as it were, a friendship among your flowers -

"Nor blush if o'er your heart be stealing A love for things that have no feeling."

This last fanciful pleasure is one unknown to the cultivator of beds where the flowers are removed and renewed year by year; and truth to tell, it is one which meets with very little sympathy from the gardener; at least, I never met with one who had any scruple about grubbing up any old favourite; they are all ready to act on the maxim, "Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground." Well would it be for us all, if we remembered and acted upon the warning as applied to ourselves!

Even in a small garden, however, there may be room for both styles of gardening : broad borders of mixed shrubs and flowers, and plots in the grass, filled with select favourites, - this combination giving variety of work as well as of enjoyment. It is true that the plots look empty and bare during the winter, but the pleasure of filling them up in spring is all the greater from the contrast; and there are few things more delightful than an evening stroll round the garden after the Tom Thumbs, verbenas, or lobelias have been replaced in their beds, a gentle watering bestowed, and the filled-up look restored to the long-empty parterres.

I suppose that the various kinds of work, comprised under the term gardening, have each their own particular charm to different individuals; but, perhaps, the most universally-liked work is this planting out, either of plants from pots, or, more delightful still, of rooted cuttings that have been struck by ourselves. Sowing seeds is another very attractive occupation; so is tying up flower steins to their supports, or training creepers against a fence or wall. Indeed, these two last-named employments are popularly supposed to comprise all a lady's work in a garden; but to one who is a real lover of gardening, scarcely any work comes amiss, although no doubt some kinds are preferable to others. Weeding by the hand is generally thought tiresome; but even this, when performed on a bed of seedlings, becomes interesting; probably because more care has to be taken, and because one feels as if the tiny plants must feel it a relief to be set free from these encroaching and overshadowing neighbours.

"'Tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes."

The pleasure that there is in the actual, practical work of a garden, must be tried before it can be understood. Liking for it will grow by exercise, even when not felt naturally; for of this healthy enjoyment may be said, what is generally remarked of more doubtful pleasures, that " it only needs a beginning."

Next to working oneself comes the pleasure of watching the work of others. Any alteration that needs the labour of more skilled hands than our own, but which has been planned out by ourselves, gives daily satisfaction while watching its progress, whether it be a new walk opening out, turf laying down, a fence putting up, a rookery building, or new beds and borders being dug; any, in short, of the changes that may be made in the smallest domain, the doing of the work, and the seeing of it done, give often more pleasure than the completest performance. I must class also among "the pleasures of work," of this work at least, that it generally leaves the mind free for pleasant and profitable thought; indeed, it suggests such. There are many similes, analogies, and styles to be observed in all natural objects; and either while planting and rearing, or cutting down and casting away, many scriptural allusions will occur to our minds, and new illustrations will be found to add another to the many pleasures of such occupation.

Among the indirect pleasures of gardening may fairly be placed those derived from studying the nature and properties of our favourite plants and flowers. A knowledge of botany may not be necessary for a gardener; but as I am endeavouring to set forth the enjoyments that are "Spread through the earth In stray gifts, to be claim'd by whoever shall find."

I must include the acquisition of some knowledge about the structure and modes of growth of plants as giving a great additional zest to their culture. Even the very weeds become interesting when understood to be only "plants out of place;" so whether it be botany that leads to gardening, or gardening that leads to botany, certain it is, that in either case benefit and enjoyment will be doubled by the student becoming a workman, and the workman a student. We may fitly conclude this chapter by applying the words spoken by Sir Henry Wotton, in praise of angling, to the pursuit and practice of gardening:-" It was an employment for his idle time, which was then not idly spent; for it was, after tedious study, a rest to his mind, a cheerer of his spirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, a moderator of passions, a procurer of con-tentedness; it begat habits of peace and patience in those that professed and practised it."