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writing a bit, then when I come down Cook was smiling at me and said it was all arranged, that Mr. Poole approved of the idea and had given her leave to use any free time we both could find to begin our project. He even told her there was all the tools we would need in the shed off the laboratory and that in Dr. Denman’s time there had been a nice bit of garden there and that in his opinion, it were a waste to have it run-down as it was.
    So on one thing Mr. Poole and I are agreed.
    I was up early the next morning, well before the sun, and I had washed down the front steps on my knees before anyone in the house was awake. This suited me well enough as I never like being looked at as I’m doing this work, especially as so many of the houses near us are now let to all sorts of tradesmen, so there’s a constant traffic and not of the nicest gentlemen, either, but those who think it’s smart to speak out to a workinggirl and see if they can distract her from her duties. It was black and foggy out, and the gas lights were still lit so each one had a yellow halo round it and they looked like a line of strange, bright fairy clouds, making eerie dollops of light along the street which was as quiet as death. I did the steps and then all the brass and took my buckets to the curb to empty out. I stood looking at the house front and my first thought was, ours is the finest and best kept on the street. Then, as I was dreaming a little, on how many houses I’ve been in and how of them all this is the best place I’ve had, for I’m paid more here, twelve pounds a year, there’s a liberal feeling in the kitchen for we all of us eat as well as we could want and haven’t even to get our own beer, and though Mr. Poole is hard on me, he’s not unfair, and of course our master is a respected gentleman who does many charitable works and as he is a bachelor, there’s only him to keep up after and he’s as clean in his ways as a military man. As I was musing thus, I saw a lamp go on upstairs in Master’s room. I had a misgiving that he might be sleepless or ill, and I gathered up my buckets to go in lest he might ring, but as I did this the lamp went out again.
    When I got back to the kitchen I put the big kettles on and got the stove up for Cook, who come in as I was working, surprised to find me there as she is always first up and has the kitchen warm for us and our tea when Annie and I come down. I told her I’d done my morning work and was now free to run out to the markets for her, so we might both have an hour beforelunch to start on our garden, and I could see she was very pleased, called me “dear Mary” and said I was the best housemaid she’d ever known and a credit to our house, all of which made me feel pleased with myself and glad I’d come up with our project.
    By half after ten everything was done, Cook had the shed key from Mr. Poole and we went out to begin our work. We found the shovels and spades, rakes, a good hoe, gloves, a number of empty pots and even a big bag of soil, all put away neatly in the little shed where, Cook said, they mun have been sitting for twenty years, waiting for hands as would take them up.
    I set to work with Cook’s direction, and heavy work it was, as the ground was so hard it come up in great clods. Cook said first those ugly bushes mun go and they gave me a fair struggle, though they hardly looked alive, and I thought how all plants do struggle and seem to be longing to flourish no matter how badly they are treated or on what hard, unprofitable soil they fall, so I began to feel a little sad for the poor bushes, but Cook said they’d be the death of our herbs so up they mun come.
    We had been at it a good time, me digging and Cook breaking up clods with a spade, when we heard the laboratory door open and Master come out, strolling towards us in a leisurely way and looking so strong and well it was a pleasure to see. Cook got up as he approached and begun dusting herself off, looking