176 MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN. 



plete order before the snow comes, so 

 that its last days shall not present a scene 

 of melancholy ruin and decay. 



I confess, that, after such an exhaust 

 ing campaign, I felt a great temptation 

 to retire, and call it a drawn engage 

 ment. But better counsels prevailed. 

 I determined that the weeds should not 

 sleep on the field of battle. I routed 

 them out, and levelled their works. I am 

 master of the situation. If I have made 

 a desert, I at least have peace ; but it is 

 not quite a desert. The strawberries, 

 the raspberries, the celery, the turnips, 

 wave green above the clean earth, with 

 no enemy in sight. In these golden 

 October days, no work is more fascinating 

 than this getting ready for spring. The 

 sun is no longer a burning enemy, but a 

 friend, illuminating all the open space, 

 and warming the mellow soil. And the 

 pruning and clearing-away of rubbish, 



