battle of
Waterloo, and when his regiment was disbanded, the Duke offered him the
post of head gardener at Walmer Castle.

The good fellow objected, for, to use his own words, he 'did not then
know a moss rose from a cabbage,' but the Duke was determined, and, as a
soldier, the man could but obey orders. 'But now,' he said to the
visitor, 'I get on pretty well.'

'And like it?' he was next asked.

'Oh, yes.'

'But suppose war were to break out--would you be a soldier again?'

'Why, that must depend on the Duke: if he said I must go, of course I
must.'

'How did you manage when you first came here?'

'Why, as well as I could. It was rather awkward.'

'Perhaps you studied hard--read a good deal?'

'No, I didn't read at all.'

'You looked about you, then?'

'Yes, I did that.'

'And now you get on very well?'

'Why, yes; but I am plagued sometimes: the names of the flowers puzzle
me sadly.'

'And what does the Duke say to that?'

'Oh, I have him there,' said the soldier gardener, 'for he doesn't know
them himself!'

The visitor also stated that the garden abounded in flowers--not rare
ones, but rich and luxuriant, with a well-kept lawn, in the midst of
which was a lime-tree, which the Duke always declared to be the finest
he had ever seen.

The experiment of turning a soldier into a head gardener seems to have
been quite successful.

TWO MEDALS.

A little English schoolboy was sauntering along the quay, looking rather
bored. It was a picturesque scene--this port of the Black Sea--with the
varied craft in the harbour, and the varied nationalities represented by
the groups of men who chattered and gesticulated, or lounged and slept
in the sunshine.

But what, he thought, were the summer holidays without cricket? Of
course, it was jolly to be with his people again, but Dick did wish they
lived in England. The boys at school had envied him because his journey
home would take him through the unrestful Balkan territory, and he might
have all manner of adventures. It was very hard that there had been
none, though the train after his had been held up, and had not got
through without some fighting.

He reached the end of the stone pier, where half-a-dozen men were
leaning over a low parapet.

'What is your pleasure, little Milord?' one asked him. This was their
nickname for the boy, who had been a favourite with them since he had
learnt to order them about in their own tongue when not much mor