The Project Gutenberg EBook of The One Moss-Rose, by P. B. Power

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Title: The One Moss-Rose

Author: P. B. Power

Release Date: April 26, 2007 [EBook #21217]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE ONE MOSS-ROSE.

[Illustration: "STOP, STOP,--DON'T CUT IT!"]

[Illustration]

THE ONE MOSS-ROSE.

BY

REV. P. B. POWER, M.A.

[Illustration: Emblem]

LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
1872.

[Illustration]

THE ONE MOSS-ROSE.

[Illustration: L]EONARD DOBBIN had a humble cottage upon Squire
Courtenay's estate; but although the cottage was humble, it was always
kept neat and clean, and was a pattern of everything that a poor man's
dwelling should be. The white-washed walls, the smoothly raked gravel
walk, and the sanded floor, were so many evidences that Leonard was a
careful and a thrifty man; and while some of his poorer neighbours
laughed, and asked where was the use of being so precise, they could
not help respecting Dobbin, nevertheless.

The great, and, indeed, almost the _only_ pleasure upon which the
labourer allowed himself to spend any time, was the little flower garden
in front of the house. The garden was Dobbin's pride; and the pride of
the garden was a moss-rose tree, which was the peculiar treasure of the
labourer's little crippled son, who watched it from the window, and
whenever he was well enough, crept out to water it, and pick off any
stray snail which had ventured to climb up its rich brown leaves. No
mother ever watched her little infant with more eager eyes than Jacob
Dobbin did his favourite rose; and no doubt he thought all the more of
it because he had so few pleasures in life. Jacob Dobbin had no fine
toys, he could not take any long walks, nor could he play at cricket,
or any such games, therefore his rose tree was