The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-06-27
a WILD GARDEN.
How Gay Deceiver From Deesisefsxil2e
Played 1t On the wife OF His Bosom.

L
Cooper lives on Jefferson street, in
nice house, which has garden attach
ed-a small garden about twenty feet
one way by seventeen feet the other.
For years this garden has gone to waste.
Many a time has Aat mans wife tried
to get him to plant something in the
garden. but he would put her off with
some excuse, such as lack of time to
devote to agricultural pursuits, the
scarcity of farm hands, high price of
seeds, or something. The good lady
dotted on beautiful lawns and grassy
slopes, and it annoyed her to see that
piece of ground producing nothing at
| all She told Cooper that he was
growing too stout and needed exer-
else, and working an hour or two of
morning in the garden would be
worth more to him than all the doctors
in the world. Along in the winter
Cooper promised his wife, after
she had spoken to him several
times about the waste land in the yard.
that if his life was spared another
season he would cultivate that lawn,
and make it blossom, and Mrs. c. was
happy. He said he would raise grass
for his neighbours cows, and have a
little artificial lake stocked with fish.
OF course the small spot of ground did
not give Cooper chance to spread
himself as he would have liked to, but
he did the best he could. One day in
early spring he was in the ST. Paul
Railways general offices, and noticed
glass jars filed with all kinds of seeds,
which were an exhibit from Dakota,
intended TO display to the emigrant
and paralyze him so he would buy land
in Dakota. Cooper looked at the seeds
and asked Mr.. Heafford Il he couldn't
have some of them to plant IN his lawn.
He was told to help himself, and Coop
er opened each jar and took pinch of
seeds. He got wheat, oats. corn. bar
ley, rye, flax, buckwheat sorghum,
broom-corn, tobacco, turnips. heets,
onions, parsnips, and every seed that
was ever grown. On the way homo he
got few prunes and peeled the rubber
off the outside and saved the pits, aud
he picked up few beans and peas, Gu
cumbers and pumpkin seeds, and ar
rived home with two-quart tomato
can filed with conglomeration of
seeds. well shook up, which would
do the business for that lawn, he
thought. Happily for Cooper, his
wife was out calling when he arrived,
and he got a spade and rake and
planted his seeds. and when his wife
came home she not ced that the garden
spot had been tempered with, and asked
about it, when Cooper said he had
sown fine article of Kentucky blue
grass on the lawn, and if everybody
would let it alone they would have
grass carpet that would please the eye.
Mrs. &. was delighted, and Cooper.
who is a bad man, wnked at his Irish
water spane ell, who had been watching
his proceedings, as much as to say,
1--WE will have a pen C here one of
these days" Well. Cooper has gone
about his business as though he had not
played mean trek on a trusting wife,
and she watched the little bed of ..blue
grass" with much enthusiasm. 1t
has been backward spring but it will
be plenty early enough for Cooper.
Already few beans have come up,
which have caused the good lady to
wonder at the peculiar appearance of
blue grass on its first appearance, while
Cooper has tried to play innocent. The
other day an unmistakable cabbage
plant showed rs mead at the surface of
the grc4nd. and it has caused some re-
mark, though Cooper has convinced
his wife that the cabbage plant is the
result of the soil breeding back about
eight years, when German family
lived in the house. Early in the pres
ent week quite a growth of wheat start
ed up, and it is easy, up to this time,
to convince the good lady that the
wheat is blue grass, though the oats
and barley and rye which have APP
peared have caused her to wonder at
the ways OF Providence The appear
ance of a dozen spears of broom corn
on Tuesday gave Mrs. {. much anx-
iety. and she telephoned to Cooper to
know what to make of it, bit he said
he presumed the dog had carried
brush broom out in the yard and buried
it, and it had sprouted. Wednesday
there was fair sprinkling of sorghum
plants on the surface, and an unmis-
taxable pumpkin vine, while several
beets were coming through, and the
wife spoke to Cooper about it, and
blue grass. Cooper has feelings as well
as anybody, and though a mild man,
he felt hurt, and told his wife that when
he planted the seeds, his responsibility
ceased. He could not cause any par
ticular thing to grow If nature knew
what a family wanted better than the
family did, and got on tear and grew
pumpkins and tomatoes in blue grass
pasture, wife should not blame the
husband who sowed blue grass. By
his fine conversational powers Mr..
Cooper has thus far succeeded in ward
ing of the blame which will certa My
attach to him when his duplicity is
known. Thus far he has succeeded
in saving it off onto Providence.
but he is already talking of go
ing away for his health. Some
morning, when he goes out to the
blue grass lawn, and sees that all the
seeds which he surreptitiously planted
under the disguise of blue grass have
got up far enough to jostle each other.
and present a varegated appearance
sufficient 10 attract the attention of the
deceived lady who only wanted lawn
and not market garden, then Cooper
will go away, and endeavor to nego-
tate a peace by diplomacy. He may
have thought it would be good joke,
but no lady likes to have her feelings
hurt that way. 1t is alleged that Coop
er is going to try and lay the blame on
Mr.. Heafford, who gave him the seeds,
but that will not work, as that gentle
man would never trifle with the feelings
of anybody. Cooper has got to stand |
IT, anf, he might better cOnfesS haforo
pole the beans and hill the potatoes,
and pick buckwheat cakes. -Peck's