The Waning Year and its Suggestions 



after him, that drives him to the purchase 

 of land and the beginning of agriculture. 



A man who owns a freehold in his Tkeimpor- 



. tance of a 



country becomes of account at once ; it freehold. 

 lifts him from the position of a transient 

 into the dignity of a resident ; he gives 

 hostages to fortune ; he becomes an es- 

 tablished citizen, in place of a possible 

 tramp, and is of more value in the com- 

 munity forthwith. The effect upon him- 

 self is elevating and composing. It stills 

 his restlessness, allays ennui, turns the 

 current of his mind into new channels, 

 provides him with an amusement for his 

 leisure hours, while giving occasion for 

 healthful exertion, as well as stimulating 

 wholesome thought. It is opposed to 

 morbidness, it forbids subjectivity, it 

 rouses the imagination, and gratifies the 

 love of beauty. 



There is that fine largeness of quality 

 in it as an amusement that appeals to the 

 simplest minds, as well as to the most 

 comprehensive. It is this which proves 

 that it is elemental and human to love a 

 garden, to enjoy the soil, to find comfort 

 in watching the development of plants 

 273 



