American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1855-12-27
LANCASTER OHIO, THURsDAY. MORNING, DEG Il, 1856.

uay hunting out new stores and treasures
riding the ponies and donkies, and max
ingall sorts Of pets in the preserves and ON
the homesfarm. Bnt month by month the
expenses were cut down, until at length
the Squire sent for me--haying taking it
into his head that was the steadiest fellow
there and told me that he was not what
people though. but very poor, aud that
everything must be made to pay The
gamekeepers were all to 60, except two
woodsmen, and all the fancy gardeners. -,
The old lawyer had dozen, one for each
department. All the land that could was
to be let, and the fruit and vegetables sold.
He did not say this at first, but he limited
and / understood him. Do the best You
eau, says he, don't ask me for money, and
shall expect the house well kept in dairy
and poultry, and the land in hand to pay a
fair rent & aa1
| In two years you never saw such Iuinl
/ verify believe the masters fractious mean
waysbroke hislady sheart;snyhow, she pin
ed away and died before the worst. After
her death the Squire went fairly wild on
saving. siI AtrFs ts59
You never saw such change in place
in all your life. The coach-horses were
not sold, but set to plough and cart And
many of the fancy beds for flowers were
sowed with potatoes, turnips, rnangolds,
! and such like. The lawns were let go to
grass, and even grazed over. And as for
the park. it was grazed down to the bare
roots with stock at SO much ahead, until
no one would send any more to be starved
Geese and ducks were reared in the gar
dentemples and fed in the basins made for
gold fish. .,- q. ,ss -t .s s..
Everything wac left to fall TO rack and
ruin, except just what could. be turned TO
profit, or what at any rate, the master fan
!. cied TO be eaproft. He took fancy to
me from the first, because you see was a
sort Of Jack of all trades, and did not mind
turning my hand to anything. So grew
from that TO be kind of baIiff. We had
a deal Of fruit to sell in .Blexborougb,
which, though not such a big place as il is
now, since these railways were found out,
was beginning to be pretty good market
4 Then there was the hay and the potatoes,
the sheep and the pigs, and ! managed all
So, Of course, got TO speak TO The Squire
pretty often, and said to him. once, 81
think, Squire, ifyou're for farming, you'd
do better to take regular farm, and let on
sale this place that's planned for pleasure
grounds, and never was meant for profit.
But, bless you he'd never listen to any
common sense, for believe the truth was
he could not bear to put money out of his
pocket, and many and many time, when
he wouldn't order joint ofmeat from the
butchers, he'd have a pork, that, what
with one experiment or another. would
cost him shilling the pound.
| One day he made up his mind to break
up fine mere of land to plough. Says l,
"we want some horses very bad, Squire,
for that stiff clay" RI
! "Why, Robin" says he-my names
Robin Spudder-"hayen't you the four
horses?"
Lord, sir" says /, 'they're no good
at ALL They may do in the light carlson
for narrowing, tho that wasn't what they
were meant for, but for ploughing, you
see, you want some weight and substance
and it's my belief you'll kill the horses,
and do no good to the land.''
The Squire was mild spoken gentle
man, unless you put his back up;but when
4 said this, his eyes fiared'like forcing
furnace. Says he, "Robin, are you in
conspiracy to ruin me like the rest2 Those
horses cost my father four hundred pounds
and you told me yourself they would mo-
! fetch twenty pounds apiece, and now yor
want me TO buy more" 7!
Well, it was no use saying anything, FOL
5 dare nottell him that he had ruined the
} poor bruses with feeding them or. a mess
5 Of potatoes and ohaff-sluff, he had learned
: out of French book. "-r"
VI Another time I've known him sooner
than give on order fol a load Of Goals, ,mak'
: me cut down two ornamental trees. if'
y so, you see, we lived on the farm OF
Q vegetables, poultry that didn't sell, skim
milk, all the cream went for butter; pork
b and such old fat wethers as were not Fl
), for market l used to be sorry for th
9 poor children, walking among the iinefrui
{ and not allowed to touch so much as an ap
!, pie, unlessit was bruised, and obliged +
i be content with dry bread, whenwe wer
making pounds and pounds Of fine butter
Q talking among themselves how different
J, was when their poor Ma was alive.
n But they were SO young that they di
l- not ieelthe change much, as long as the
d could play about; and, of course, whe
Z heir fathers back was turned, they hat
Q the best of evrything. We servants, ou
9 of the house, did very well; our wage
8 we're regular, and, of course, we had th
d best of everything that was sold beside
IS the perquisites. .oeg.
IS lived in one Of the park lodges, an
:. made myself and my missis very comforts
It Bile with garden. A cows grass was pai
" of my wages; and many time the. Chi
% dren came down from the Hal, - had bel
d ter tea with us than they were allowed Z
home. The worst Of it was, the Squir
II was always trying some new-fangled plans
i and never stuck to any of 'em long enoug
r to make ,em pay. He used to read some
e thing out of a book; and come down fu
Y of it., and try it, ifoit could bedone with
i out laying out too much money, and the
e before il was half done, he tried soInethinrl
a ~