Bride could not complete her sentence, and the old gardener looked tenderly at her. He had known her from her birth. He had guided her tottering steps round the garden before she could fairly walk alone. He had watched her growth and development with an almost fatherly tenderness and pride. She was as dear to him as though she had been his own flesh and blood; and the mother who was now taken away had never interfered with the friendship between the child and the old servant; nay, she had many and many a time held long talks herself with Abner, and knew how strong a sympathy there was between his views and her own, despite their widely different walk in life. And so in the old gardener Bride had a friend to whom at such a moment as this she could talk more freely than to any other living creature. “May be the Lord wants the most beautiful flowers for His own garden, my Ladybird,” answered the old man, using the familiar pet name which had grown up between them in childhood. “When I used to gather flowers for her Grace’s room, I chose the sweetest and most perfect blossoms I could find. We mustn’t wonder if the Lord sometimes does the same--nor grudge Him the fairest and purest flowers, even though the loss is ours.” Slightly soothed by the thought, Bride tried to smile. “Only it seems as though we wanted them so much more,” said she. “I don’t know. The dear Lord must have loved her full as much as we do. He lent her to us for many years; may be He knew she would be better placed in His garden now, where no pruning-knife need ever touch her, and no suns can scorch her, and where her leaves will never wither. Sure, my Ladybird, yu du not grudge her her place in God’s garden of Paradise?” “O Abner! I will try not. I know what you mean; she did have much suffering to bear here, and I am thankful she will have no more. But there are some things so hard to understand, even when we believe them. I cannot bear to think of her body lying in the cold ground, and becoming--oh! it does not bear thinking of.” “Then, why think of it, Ladybird?--why not look beyond this poor corruptible body, and think of the glorious resurrection body with which we shall all arise?” “Oh, it is so hard to understand!” cried Bride, pressing her hands together--“it is so hard to understand!” “I think it is not possible to understand,” said the old man quietly, “but surely it is easy to believe, for we see it every day and every year.” “How do we see it?” asked Bride, almost listlessly. Abner put his hand in his pocket and drew forth a little packet of seed, some of which he poured into his palm.