courteous when he chose, as he occasionally was when speaking to Dame
Pearson or Elizabeth. With that young lady, as has been said, Jack
spent a considerable portion of his time, whenever he was in the house;
Dame Pearson made no objection to his so doing. Indeed, so quiet and
sedate was the little girl, that she seemed to treat him more in the
light of a brother than an admirer. From the remarks made by Dame
Pearson, Jack had been anxious to learn more of her early history, but
whenever he introduced the subject to Elizabeth, she invariably tried to
turn him from it.

"Dear mamma and I are very happy now, and quiet and contented: but we
have gone through some very painful scenes, and we desire not to recall
them; so don't, I pray you, speak to me again of my early days."

Pearson seemed to be occupying himself very busily about farm matters,
and wherever he went took Jack with him. On the various pasture-lands,
some partially drained, others tolerably dry by nature, a considerable
number of cattle were fed. They were of all breeds, though the greater
number appeared to have come from the north. There were a good many
horses also--some carefully sheltered in sheds, and others roaming at
large. Pearson exhibited them to Jack with considerable pride.

"I have a number of valuable animals here," he observed, "which will
fetch high prices in the London market, and I purpose early in the
spring sending some up. If you will undertake to accompany them, it
will give you an opportunity of seeing the big city. I may or may not
go myself, but I wish to place them under charge of a trusty man who
knows London well, so that you need have no responsibility in the
matter. In the meantime, you shall try them by turns, so that you will
be able to speak of their various qualities."

This last proposal was very much to Jack's taste, and from that day
forward, he was constantly employed in exercising the horses. In this
way he gained considerable knowledge of the fen-country, and was able to
traverse it in most directions by himself, learning by degrees to
distinguish even at a distance the soft and marshy places which were
impassable, and to pick out the harder ground, even though covered with
water. Frequently he was thus occupied from morning till night, often
being sent considerable distances from the farm with messages to the
surrounding towns. Though the life was a rough one, it was much to his
taste; and he was re