n may amuse themselves with follies
of that kind, when they have nothing better to do; but it is thrown
aside, and their best qualities come out, when they have such work
to do as they have had there.

"Yes, I agree with you, sir. The experiment has turned out
capitally; and your nephew is, in every respect, a far better man
than he would have been, if he had been kept mewed up here these
three years. He is a young fellow that anyone--I don't care who he
is--might feel proud of."

So Bob took up his duties in the office, and his only complaint
there was that he could hardly find enough to do. Mr. Bale had
relaxed his close attention to the business, since he had taken Mr.
Medlin into the firm; but as that gentleman was perfectly capable
of carrying it on, single handed, Bob's share of it was easy
enough. It was not long before he complained to his uncle that he
really did not find enough to do.

"Well, Bob, you shall come down with me to a place I have bought,
out by Chislehurst. It is a tidy little estate. I bought it a year
ago. It is a nice distance from town--just a pleasant ride, or
drive, up. I am thinking of moving my establishment down there,
altogether; and as you will have it some day, I should like your
opinion of it. It isn't quite ready, yet. I have been having it
thoroughly done up, but the men will be out in a week or two."

Bob was greatly pleased with the house, which was a fine one, and
very pleasantly situated, in large grounds.

"There are seventy or eighty acres of land," Mr. Bale said. "They
are let to a farmer, at present. He only has them by the year; and
I think it will be an amusement to you to take them in hand, and
look after them yourself. I know a good many people living about
here, and I have no doubt we shall have quite as much society as we
care for."

Another month and they were established at Chislehurst, and Bob
found the life there very pleasant. He generally drove his uncle up
to town in the morning; getting to the office at ten o'clock, and
leaving it at five in the afternoon. On his return home there was
the garden to see about, and the stables. Very often his uncle
brought a city friend or two home with him, for the night; and they
soon had a large circle of acquaintances in the neighbourhood.

"I should like you to marry young, Bob," Mr. Bale said to him one
day. "I did not marry young; and so, you see, I have never married
at all; and have wasted my life shockingly, i