He was weaned with extreme difficulty, and even when promoted to bread and biscuits and milk puddings, continued to recognise his nurse's past service and reward it with so sincere an affection that the woman accepted an increase of wage and cheerfully consented to stay on and take care of him.
Captain Barker saw nothing in all this to shake his first resolution of making the boy a gardener, but rather found in each successive day a reason the more for making haste to learn something about horticulture himself, in order that when the time came he might be able to teach it.

At length he took counsel with Narcissus Swiggs and unfolded his desire.
Mr.Swiggs listened sleepily, and as soon as his master had done gave him a month's notice.
"What the devil's the use of that ?" Captain Barker asked.
"I thought you weren't satisfied, that's all." "If I weren't, I should kick you out without half these words.
You've been thinking of yourself all this while." "I mostly does." "Then don't, while I'm talking." And Captain Barker explained his scheme a second time.
"No use," pronounced Mr.Swiggs at the close, shaking his head ponderously.
"Why not ?" Mr.Swiggs swept his hand before him, summing up the whole landscape with one majestic semicircle.
"Where is your soil ?" he asked.

"And where is your water?
Springs ?"--he paused a couple of seconds--"There ain't none.

All that mortal man can do, I does." "And what is that ?" "I does without." "But the marsh behind us--" "Salt." "Narcissus Swiggs, you have been in my service twenty years." "Twenty-three." "During that time you have once or twice argued with me.

I ask you, as a Christian man, to tell me truly what you got by it." "Naught." "Just so.