The Rescue of an Old Place 



compel her to reward his toil. The fable 

 of the giant Antaeus, who renewed his 

 strength when he came in contact with the 

 earth, has a subtle meaning, for it is by 

 this contact that many weary souls have 

 found rest and arisen refreshed. 



To him who is tired of mankind the 

 solitude and peace of a garden have a 

 rare charm. Many a great statesman 

 has turned from the cares of state to till 

 his fields, or cultivate his flower-beds and 

 trees, his alert brain finding full range 

 for its activity in some scheme of land- 

 scape, or some great project for fertiliz- 

 ing a barren waste and rendering it pro- 

 ductive. 



Food for Gardening gratifies the thoughtful mind, 



because it does not look for immediate re- 

 sults. It inculcates patience in all its 

 teachings, patience not only with pro- 

 cesses, but with results, for disappoint- 

 ments have often to be met ; the best of 

 schemes fail of accomplishment, new ene- 

 mies arise on every hand, visible and hid- 

 den. To combat them requires perse- 

 verance, fertility in resource, promptness 

 in action. 



270 



