Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-02-07

Now, measter, zee no call to be so
grum! None of they things'll be hap
orth the worse. The frost'n ony swatch
EN-
You zany, l know all your talk. Hold
your tongue. Sweeten them indeed! And,
when we want them, are we to dig them
with mattocks, pray2 Or do you thick
heads expect it to thaw to order when
the pot is bubbling? Stir your lazy
legs, or I'll throw every one of you
on the workhouse the moment the first
snow falls"
The three men grinned at one another,
and proceeded leisurely. They knew
Much better than the Squire himself
what his gentle nature was.
Man and boy" said the eldest of
them, speaking below his breath, as if
this tyranny had extinguished him; ''in
this here gearden have l worked, man
and boy for threescore year, and always
yi'en satisfaction. Workussi What
would his father a said TO hear tell in
this gearden of workuss? Workuss!
Well. let un COON, if "a Will Can't be
harder work"
''Tummuss, Tummuss, you may say
that" said another lazy rascal, shaking
his head, with his heel on his spade,
and then wiping his forehead laboriously
"'tis the sweat of our brow. Tummuss,
none of 'em thinks on--but there, they
was boon to be driving usr'
Squire Oglander made as if he heard
them not; and then he hurried to the
hedge again, and stood on the wall of
the leaf-mould pit, and peered over the
beard of hollies. And this time he spied
in the distance Grips, or at any rate
the tilt of the Crippsian cart, jogging
sedately 50 the rhythm OF the feet of
Dobbiu.
''Hurrah-' cried the Squire, who was
still as young in mind as If he had no
body. by George, we shall be just in
time. Never mind what said, my lads.
/ was little bit cross, l know. Take
out the crumbs from the bottom of your
trenches. and go two inches deeper. Our
new potatoes are come at last"
SQUIRE Oglsnder, having retired now
from the army and all warfare, was
warmly devoted TO the hearts of peace.
Farming. planting, gardening. breeding,
training of dogs. and so on--all of these
quiet delights fell softly on a very ne
tive mind. when the yigor of the body
began to fail He loved his farm, and
he loved his garden, and all his attempts
at improvement. and nothing better than
20 point out his own mistakes TO rash
admirers But where is the pleasure
of showing things to strangers who know
nothing? The old mans grand delight
Of all was TO astonish his own daugh-
ter, his only child. Grace Oglander.
This it was that made him work so
hard at the present moment. He was
determined to have his kitchen garden
in first rate winter order by the time his
daughter should come home from a visit
10 her aunt at Ccwley. Now this sister.
Mrs. Fermitage, had promised to bring
home their joint pet Oracle in time for
the dinner at O'Clock that very day.
and TO dine there with them; so that il
was needful to look alive, and to make
quick step of everything. Moreover this
good Squire had some little insight into
The ways and meaning Of the weather of
the neighborhood. He knew as well as
short-tailed field mouse that n long
frost was coming. The sharp dry rustic
of the upturned leaves of holly and of
ivy. the heavy stoop of the sullen sky.
the patches of spaded mould already
browning with powdery crispneSs. the
onward shivering look of the grass. and
the loss of all gloss upon everything.
and the shuddering rattle in the teeth of
a man who opened his mouth to the wind
at all-many other things than these.
as well as all of them. We're here.
But the strange thing. in this pres
ent matter was that Squire Oglander
was bent not only on digging potatoes,
hut also on planting them. this very day.
Forsooth il was one of his fixed dates
in the chronicles Of the garden, that
happen what might. or be the season
whatsoever il chose TO be, new potatoes
and peas he would have by the last day
of Aiay at the latest. And this without
any ignoble resort to forcing pit hotbed,
or even cold frame: under the pure gaze
Of the sky, by that time they must be