“I remember this house well,” said Mrs. Merton; “for I was here with my aunt about fifteen years ago, at the time when a very melancholy calamity had just happened. A collier’s vessel from Newcastle was lying in the roads, when the wife of the captain, who was near her confinement, was taken ill, and sent for a doctor from the town. The only doctor who happened to be at home was an elderly man, very much respected by every body, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, though it well deserves to be remembered. The evening was dark and inclined to be stormy, and this worthy man was advised not to venture out to sea in such weather. However, he was determined to do his duty, and he went. After the little baby was born, he was about to return, but the storm had become more serious, and he determined to remain in the vessel till morning. Unfortunately, however, a dreadful storm arose, and the ship was lost. My aunt and I arrived at Yarmouth the very day after the accident, and we found the whole town in agitation and distress. Every body knew the doctor; every body respected him; and every body was of course distressed at his untimely death. In the kitchen of the inn were three or four sailors, who had been saved by clinging to the rigging. I forget how many hours they had been in this state; but I remember well that when I saw them, their arms, which were being rubbed to restore circulation, were quite black, and so benumbed that they could not use them.” “I remember your mentioning the circumstance before,” said Mr. Merton, “and I am not surprised at the impression it made on you.” “Yes,” said Mrs. Merton, “it is one thing to read of shipwrecks, and of sailors clinging to the rigging for hours, and another to see the poor creatures who have undergone such dreadful sufferings.” Having now satisfied their curiosity with all that was to be seen at Yarmouth, they re-entered the carriage and proceeded to Freshwater. On the road they saw so many beautiful wild flowers that Agnes begged permission to walk a little way, that she might gather some. There was the beautiful blue Scabious, the yellow Ragwort, and a bright pink Lychnis. In one place there was a mass of Ground Ivy, growing so luxuriantly as to look like a garden flower; and when Agnes brought some of this to the carriage, her papa told her it belonged to the order of the Labiatæ or lipped plants, and made her observe the shape of the flower, and how completely it is double-lipped, the lower lip being more than twice the size of the upper one. Then Agnes found a plant with small leaves like the Trefoil, and curiously coiled-up seed pods, which she said looked like snails, or hedge-hogs. This Mr. Merton told her was called the Spotted Medick, and that its curious pod was, in fact, a legume like that of the pea. [Illustration: _Fig. 7._ GROUND-IVY. (_Glechoma hederucea._) ] [Illustration: _Fig. 8._ THE SPOTTED MEDICK. (_Medicago denticulata._) ]