A GARDEN DIARY 39 



SEPTEMBER 25, 1899 



" I "'HE gardener seems to pass amongst his kins- 

 * folk and acquaintance for a rather feeble, but 

 more or less meditative sort of man. His trade 

 is held, I perceive, to be productive of some of the 

 milder forms of philosophy. Like the angler he 

 enjoys a rather supercilious consideration on that 

 account from his more violently active brethren. 



"You are such a patient fellow," they say. 

 "You don't care how long you stay pottering 

 over one small spot. Such quiet ways of going 

 on would never do for us! " 



This may be the case, but I cannot say that 

 I have personally observed, either in myself, or 

 other gardeners, any tendency to exhibit more 

 placidity over the cares and crosses of a garden, 

 than over any of the other cares and crosses of 

 existence. As for philosophy, a certain sort of 

 cheap moralising a garden is certainly rather pro- 

 ductive of. It sprouts unheeded along the walks, 

 and may be extracted with greater facility than 

 most of the weeds. That "life is short"; that 



