ar is hardening nicely, I see," he said, rubbing his hands before
the fire.

"Yes," I said. "You know I _told_ Janet that for this part of the affair
we could trust to the fool's Providence."

"Thank you," said Jonathan.

III

Evenings on the Farm

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may);
I shan't be gone long.--You come too.

I'm going out to fetch the little calf
That's standing by the mother. It's so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I shan't be gone long.--You come too.

ROBERT FROST.

When we first planned to take up the farm we looked forward with especial
pleasure to our evenings. They were to be the quiet rounding-in of our
days, full of companionship, full of meditation. "We'll do lots of reading
aloud," I said. "And we'll have long walks. There won't be much to do
_but_ walk and read. I can hardly wait." And I chose our summer books with
special reference to reading aloud.

"Of course," I said, as we fell to work at our packing, "we'll have to do
all sorts of things first. But the days are so long up there, and the life
is very simple. And in the evenings you'll help. We ought to be settled in
a week."

"Or two--or three," suggested Jonathan.

"Three! What is there to do?"

"Farm-life isn't so blamed simple as you think."

"But what _is_ there to do? Now, listen! One day for trunks, one day for
boxes and barrels, one day for closets, that's three, one for curtains,
four, one day for--for the garret, that's five. Well--one day for odds and
ends that I haven't thought of. That's liberal, I'm sure."

"Better say the rest of your life for the odds and ends you haven't
thought of," said Jonathan, as he drove the last nail in a neatly headed
barrel.

"Jonathan, why are you such a pessimist?"

"I'm not, except when you're such an optimist."

"If I'd begun by saying it would take a month, would you have said a
week?"

"Can't tell. Might have."

"Anyway, there's nothing bad about odds and ends. They're about all women
have much to do with most of their lives."

"That's what I said. And you called me a pessimist."

"I didn't call you one. I said, why were you one."

"I'm sorry. My mistake," said Jonathan with the smile of one