straw. At the farthest end of this pleasure ground, Mr. Howard built a sort of rustic summer-house, very common in England, and called sometimes a hermitage, but more frequently a root-house, from the roots of trees being used occasionally in their construction. The walls were chiefly composed of the stems and branches of trees with the bark on them, and the roof was thatched with The openings left for the door and windows were formed into pointed, or Gothic, arches by crossing the branches over them. A rudely constructed fire-place, glazed windows, and a book-case showed that the owner intended to use this retreat as a place of reading and meditation at all seasons of the year. The inside of this building was as rough as the outside, being without any ceiling or plaistering on the walls; bark and moss were the only hangings. The principal seats were rude benches covered with matting, others were formed of curious masses of peat, cut out of a peat-moss near Cardington. A large stone slab served the purpose of a table, and upon it stood the figure of a nun carved in marble, a wooden model of one of the public buildings Mr. Howard had seen abroad, and an hour-glass. At the back of this hermitage was a cold bath which was used by the owner every morning, summer and winter. The root-house then served the purpose of a dressing-room, and by merely opening a door at the back of it, he could plunge directly into the water. A well worn Bible, with other books of a serious character and some of the best English classics, filled the book-case of this apartment; and the value Mr. Howard attached to such reading and to quiet meditation was shown by the constant use he made of his hermitage whenever he was at Cardington, as well as by the inscriptions within the building. The planning and laying out of these grounds were a source of much innocent pleasure to the owners; and as Mr. Howard labored with his own hands in executing the work, the bodily exercise was useful to his health. Of all outdoor amusements, gardening is perhaps the best. Like other simple and natural pleasures, it increases with the use, and is equally favorable to mind and body. This benevolent couple did not confine their taste to the embellishment of their own grounds; they built several very neat and pretty cottages, with kitchen-gardens behind them and flower-gardens in front; these were let to poor people at a very moderate rent, upon condition of their being kept in good order. Once, when Mr. Howard was settling his accounts, at the close of the year, he found a balance in his favor, and offered to use it in any way that would most gratify his wife, proposing at the same time a journey to London as something that would be agreeable to her. "What a pretty little cottage it would build!" was her reply; and the money was accordingly disposed of for that purpose. In this rational and happy way, did this truly united pair spend their days; using their wealth, their time, and their abilities for the good of all around them; making their own happiness to consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly. About three years had thus passed rapidly away since their return to Cardington, when their hearts were filled with joy and gratitude by the prospect of a new and untasted blessing, that of becoming parents. But alas! that blessing was dearly purchased. The birth of the child occasioned the death of the mother! Mr. Howard had scarcely felt the novel and interesting relation of father to the little stranger, when his joy was turned to mourning, by the loss of that beloved partner who had been to him all that the fondest heart could desire. Mrs. Howard had the same religious views* with her husband, and like him cherished that strong sentiment of piety in her heart, which makes duty and inclination the same, and renders this small portion of our existence spent on earth, a scene of preparation and education for that part of it which is to be spent beyond the grave. To that higher stage of existence, this excellent woman now passed. Her remains were interred in Cardington church, and a tablet was erected to her memory, by her mourning husband, with this simple but expressive inscription on it. In hope of a resurrection to eternal life HENRIETTA Howard, Daughter of Edward Leeds, Esq. Who died the 31st of March 1765, aged 39. She opened her mouth with And in her tongue was the law of kindness. * Those of moderate Calvinism. It would be useless, if it were possible, to describe the sorrow of such a man as Howard, for the loss of a wife so deservedly dear. It is not to be expected that the juvenile readers of these pages can sympathize in such grief. It is to be hoped that their young hearts are so unacquainted with sorrow, that they cannot even imagine the situation of Mr. Howard at this time. We will therefore turn from him to the contemplation of the motherless babe, for whom we must ask the sympathy of the youngest and gayest of our readers. All who have experienced the blessing of a mother's love, and a mother's care, can feel for those who are deprived of this tender and watchful friend. But it is not in the earliest stages of infancy, that this loss is most felt; a good nurse may then, in a great measure, supply the place of a mother. It is all through |