Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1870-10-12
Horace GreeIey's FARM.

week ago, Come up and spend a
Saturday on the farm"
Mr.. Greeley's farm is at Chapequa, a
station, which, in spite of being ON the
Harlem Railroad, is not great way
from New York. Every Friday night
our venerable friend, weary With the
week, leaves Printing House Square, and
goes up to smell his own grass. to nod
to his own cattle, and to drink water at
bis own rock spring. All this freshens
away his venerable look, and turns him
into a young man in twenty-four hours.
This farm supplies vegetables to the mar
ket and good reading to the Tribune
just as certain farm at Peekskill grows
apples for New York aud preaching for
Brooklyn. What other acres in the
country yield better crops?
Drawing near the station, overheard
passenger saw to bis companions:
We are coming upon Horace Gree
ley's country seat"
81 suppose" said the other, she lives
in fine STYLE"
How could help turning around and
remarking:
"Well be IS laboring mani"
Diving in the woods, 10 romantic
haunt, barrcaded against the world by
palisades Of forest trees-this busy man.
taking his rest in hard work, drops bis
pen to shoulder his axe, and for twelve
years has been chopping hemlock, birch
es, cbestnuts, naples, oaks-yet his
woods still stand. He can cut tree or
split rail as well as Abraham Lincoln,
and could write as good proclamation.
60 am proudest of my oaks." said be, as
we walked in the shade of aged boughs
| that once shook their leaves to the same
wint that filed Hendkick Hudson sails.
Older than these, some others were CO.
eval with Columbus and the New World.
An army of venerable veterans, they en-
camped on this farmers hillsides sold.
iers of many battles against tempest and
thunderbolt-still Haunting their banners
10 every breeze-standIng where they
will stand long after we who walked un-
der them shall have faded like leaf
A man looks at flower saying, SLOW
short ivedl' But what say the trees
when they look down at menu Or what
say the rocks when they look up ut the
trees? Nay, what says the globe itself to
all these, except to bear faint witness of
Him to whom a thousand years are as
one day, passing like tale that is told.
+" Do you employ slave labor in
quired.
awe will walk round the farm" he
replied, ''and perhaps you will meet
some contrabands."
found-O marvel of the times -
that the best blood of South Carolina
was tiling Horace Greeley's fields.
Never were seventy acres moro diver
sitied than on this farm-crowding to.
gether meadow, garden, orchard ravine,
precipice, cascade and forest primeval.
Part of it is level as prairie, and part
to steep for goat to climb. 1t is nature
in her wildness and her tameness, q lit
tie Switzerland.
There were three of us the third be.
ing our friend Morton, at whom the
geese Kissed because he makes the ia.
nous gold pens.
Let US 60 down into the ravine, and
dip our cups into the well in the rock"
said our host, who has a known fond
ness for cold water. After drinking our
| fill with relish better than of wine, we
sat on the rocks at the foot of the water.
fall, and stripping our arms bare. plunged
them into the rapids till the blood grew
cool, and we rose like giants refreshed.
Sometimes in freshet. this stream plays
tricks, and like tie wolf in the fable,
has once destroyed dam. But like
pert maid, it makes up in fair looks what
it lacks 10 fine manners. The fishes in
the fish pond would have come to our
hands for few crumbs, only we forgot
to carry the crumbs. Mr.. Greeley talks
to them sometimes; but they, just as
when st. Anthony preached to their
shallow pates for the first time, still turn
their tails and swim away. Climbing
up to higher ground in the woods,
whirr.r went the cartridges from under
our feet, a very picture of unnecessary
"skedaddling"-for not gun is ever
fired among these trees, and all sensible
birds know 1t. The squirrels were ia
king their comfort, wbistling as content
edly as if they owned the place. The
locusts were as loud as brass band
They have sound of Sunday in their
voices. The bees, though having the
whole garden to themselves, envied us the
few flowers that we carried 10 our hands,
for they settled on our roses and pinks
and hearts ease, as if they were custom
house officers come to search for contra
band goods. Knee deep We walked in
clover, the grass hoppers flying out be.
fore us like rebels before General Grant.
A grass hopper eats like hungry man,
yet even while he devours your sub.
stance, you bear no grudge against him,
because of the wiseness of his face
, When he happens to leap away, and los
es his bold of the clover stalk, his yellow
belly turns up so much like a frogs. as
to delight Frenchman. Besides this
creature speaks the dead languages, and
.'chrps on in Greek STILL" But the ac-
robats will soon stop their grand and
lofty tumblings, for yonder comes the
turkeys with sheriff's warrant for every
one of them. Grass hoppers are for
! gobblers to gobble; turkeys must grow