IO2 MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN. 



vestigate the cause of it. It is this habit of 

 observation, so cultivated, which has given him 

 such a trained mind, and made him so philo- 

 sophical. It is within the capacity of even the 

 humblest of us to attain this. 



And, speaking of the philosophical temper, 

 there is no class of men whose society is more 

 to be desired for this quality than that of plumb- 

 ers. They are the most agreeable men I know ; 

 and the boys in the business begin to be agreeable 

 very early. I suspect the secret of it is, that 

 they are agreeable by the hour. In the driest 

 days, my fountain became disabled : the pipe 

 was stopped up. A couple of plumbers, with 

 the implements of their craft, came out to view 

 the situation. There was a good deal of differ- 

 ence of opinion about where the stoppage was. 

 I found the plumbers perfectly willing to sit 

 down and talk about it, talk by the hour. 

 Some of their guesses and remarks were ex- 



