20 THE DELIGHTS OF GARDENS 



HOME AGAIN! 



(From the Chinese) 



HOMEWARDS I bend my steps. My fields, my 

 gardens, are choked with weeds : should I not go ? 

 . . . The place is a wilderness ; but there is the old 

 pine-tree and my chrysanthemums. . . . 



And now, I take my pleasure in my garden. 

 There is a gate, but it is rarely opened. I lean on 

 my staff as I wander about or sit down to rest. I 

 raise my head and contemplate the lovely scene. 

 Clouds rise, unwilling, from the bottom of the hills : 

 the weary bird seeks its nest again. Shadows 

 vanish, but still I linger round my lonely pine. 

 Home once more ! I'll have no friendships to dis- 

 tract me hence. . . . What boots it to wear out the 

 soul with anxious thoughts ? I want not wealth : 

 I want not power : heaven is beyond my hopes. 

 Then let me stroll through the bright hours as they 

 pass, in my garden among my flowers. Thus will I 

 work out my allotted space, content with appoint- 

 ments of Fate, my spirit free from care. 



A PROSPECT 



(From the Chinese) 



PLEASANT is the garden ground, 

 Where the sandal trees are found, 

 With the paper mulberry. 

 Underneath their branches lie 



