CATHOLIC AND QUAKER 129 



soil covered with a forest of pines. His house is 

 simple, his garden is well kept, he has a good library, 

 and his situation seems destined for the retreat of a 

 philosopher." In August he went "with Mr. Shoe- 

 maker to the house of his father-in-law Mr. Richard- 

 son, a farmer who lives near Middleton, twenty miles 

 from Philadelphia. . . . The garden furnished 

 vegetables of all kinds and fruits." The next month 

 found him at Springmill, eight miles up from Phila- 

 delphia on the Schuylkill, where the best house was 

 occupied by a Frenchman whose name he does not 

 give, but to whom he refers as "M. L." 



This residence was on a hill, with the river flowing 

 past on the southeast "the most sublime prospect that 

 you can imagine," says he. "From the two gardens, 

 formed like an amphitheatre, you enjoy that fine pros- 

 pect above mentioned. These gardens" they were 

 three acres in extent "are well cultivated and contain 

 a great many bee-hives. . . . M. L. has . . . 

 planted a vineyard near his house on the south-east 

 exposure, and it succeeds very well. ... I have 

 already mentioned that the pastures and fields in 

 America are enclosed with barriers of wood or fences. 

 M. L. thinks it best to replace them by ditches six 

 feet deep, of which he throws the earth upon his 

 meadows, and borders the sides with hedges; and thus 

 renders the passage impracticable to the cattle." This 



