were taken on again, in the event of there
being any vacancies; so that, since the establishment of this farm, it
is usual for the labourers and working classes in the neighbourhood to
say, 'Let us be active, honest, and industrious, so as to obtain a high
character for such good qualities, and, perhaps, one day we may be
fortunate to get engaged at Bouqueval Farm. There, for a couple of
years, we shall lead a life of perfect happiness. We shall learn our
business thoroughly; we shall save a little money, so that, when our
time is up, every one will be glad to engage us, because they know that
we must have had first-rate characters to have been admitted on the
establishment at all.'"

"I am already bespoke by M. Dubreuil for his farm at Arnouville," said
Jean Rene.

"And I am engaged to a first-rate service at Gonesse," chimed in another
labourer.

"You see, my good friend, by this plan everybody is a gainer, the
neighbouring farmers particularly. There are but twelve places for
servants on the farm, but there are, perhaps, fifty candidates who have
all earned their right to solicit an engagement by certificates and
testimonials of excellent conduct. Well, though thirty-eight out of the
fifty must be disappointed, yet the good which is in them will still
remain; and there are so many good and deserving characters in the
environs we can safely reckon upon; for, though they have failed in this
application, they still live in hopes of succeeding another time. Why,
for every prize animal to which the medal is assigned, whether for
swiftness, strength, or beauty, there must be a hundred or more trained
to stand forward and dispute the choice; and those animals rejected do
not lose any of those qualifications because they were not accepted; far
from it; their value is acknowledged, and they quickly find persons
desirous of possessing them. Now, friend," said Father Chatelain, having
fairly talked himself out of breath, "do you not confess that I was
right when I said ours was no common farm, any more than our employer
was no ordinary master?"

"Indeed," said the Schoolmaster, "your account is most interesting, and
fully bears out all you asserted. But, the more I hear of the exalted
views and noble generosity of your master, the more earnestly do I pray
he may be induced to look with pity on my wretched condition. To such a
man, so filled with a desire to improve the condition of God's
creatures, a charitable action mor