Litchfield enquirer., 1840-10-01
TIE GARDEN.

Nlr. Jaqnes to himself, as he st,.ud one June morning in 1928, looking into the garden of Mr. Lane, cultivated somewhat better than was comm"n in the place. ih"".i' certainly not al any very great cA- pen>'. N hiIr Mir. JHqres was ialkn. :hnS tn hi"s>rlf, Nir. thIsun, a ntialbur. came "p, to wI.un he addressed hin>t If with much~ intcftst, saving, "Oniy see what garden this is How early and houfishing /! Ra,Eshes folly grown, le,- luce with large heads, cahbagrs "!mos, fit for boiling, peas aud beanS full of blossoms aud pods. Just look at the e:elun and cu- cnmber vines; could you believe they could have grown so large There ate the currant, e""sebery, raspberry bushes, peaches, apples ahd pears, and multiiudes "t beautiful tlnwers. aud know not what ]; and 1t Is only few Aears since this lot was nothing but common firld,, and not re- garded as very good soil, neither. But there is nothing tlla, money cannot do. 1 should like amazingly well To have such things, bu. we poor people mus, be content without them; God has not given me riches, and l do not know, finally, if he had, that should think it right to lay out so much just to please the ey and gratily the taste. How much good all inc money spent here to gralify pride and suit the ap- petite, might have done, if given to some poor family to purchase food and clothing, but the appetites of the rich must be pam pered, le, the real wants of the poor be what they may. There will be strange overturning when God shall judge the world." -..t .. ...u4 ... .7.
 Do you then really think, neighbor Jaques," replied Mr. Johnson, ",hat Mir. l.ane is rich man! Only reflect; you know that he commenced life here, as we speak, only about len years since, will, lil- ''1 or nothing to depend on but his earn ings. His wife, also, who was tho daush- ter of farmer Peas!ey, could not have brought much property with her, and though they have been industrious aud prudent, yet they certainly have not been in the way of making any great sum of money; and they have had a young fami- ly to provide for, like the rest of us.''
 ''Therc must have been money some where l am certain," said MT. Jaqnes, |" for know that have worked as hard as Mir. Lane ever did, and know that in- stead of being able to get such a multitude of things, have had more than could do to provide the tommon neccssaries for my family; this garden and all these fine things never come without money, and q good deal too"
 You mistake, entirrly," said Mr. Johnson. "and if you will hear me, I will tell you all about n, ,as nU".A .. ..--.., AI-
 Lane himself, and his statement was con- firmed by looking at his books, where he has recorded every tree. vine, plant, &c. which no has purchased, and the price given for them. The circumstances are these: Mir. Lane became ca:l y convinced was of no service to q mat, and thus left the use, if indeed he ever had fairly got in;o the habi, of drinking il. And when he bought here he determined 10 devote q certain sum every year, less in amount than was usually expended by tie most tempe rate men as they were then called, ~ho were in the habit of drinking a little every day. This sum, if remember right, was not more than eight or ten dollars, which he has constantly devoted 10 the purchase of trees, plants or seeds for the ghidrn.- These he has cultivated almost entirely himself, by taking advantage of those inter- vals of business which most men spend so little or no profit. The result is what you see, and it is very certain, should he c"n- tinue in this way, very few years will ex- hibit still greater results. And you and l, and in fact most of ihe neighb"rs, might have done the same thing, just as well as he. You speak of gratifying the appetite {: do you not think you have spent more for tEat purpose that MT. Lane has, even if this simple qualification were the only ad- vantage gained from all the fruits and flow CTS the garden yields. lfyou will reckon, you will find you have paid more that ten dollars yearly, for ten years past, for ar dent spirits. jost to gratiiy your taste and SO have I, and so have most ot the neigh- bors. And | have just been thinking how unwise we have been; and have finally come 10 the conclusion that had better adopt different course, and therefore yesterday signed inc temperance pledge ; and, though my advice is not asked Tor, ] will venture to suggest tl'at II might De we'll for yom to do the same ihng. 1our lot and mine, which we have owned as long as Mir. Lane has his. lie more tnvorably ,o lle sun, and can be cultivated n"ct' ea- sier, while his now is worth d half dozen oi ours. We have los. much by delay, but better begin late than never; and ] have determined to begin. It will be much bel- ter ,ban to talk abou, what money can do, aud complain of ,hose who cultivate ana improve t!eir garden with money winch we espeed for rum. But IS am !" haste ] must leave ynu, x" good morning.