8o Details and Dollars 



went out. At the end of the five years he had 

 recovered health and spirits ; he had kept his 

 family in comfort; he had lived an out-door 

 life of far more interest to himself than any 

 business life could have been ; and he found 

 his property more valuable and his bank ac- 

 count larger than when he began. I confess 

 that once having plunged into Ten Acres 

 Enough I read the book through with more 

 eager interest than if it had been the most 

 absorbing novel. Here was what I had been 

 looking for. I loved sunshine, I was fond of 

 gardening, I had a passion for grubbing in the 

 earth, for watching things grow. I had had 

 many years of city life, and far more than my 

 share of city amusements as my connection 

 with newspapers had supplied me with tickets 

 to all places of entertainment. I said to my- 

 self: "This is the life for me ; I will raise straw- 

 berries, raspberries, blackberries, and other 

 pleasant things, and if I do not grow rich I 

 shall at least have strength and health where- 

 with to enjoy the sunlight and the country air." 

 For months this idea haunted me without 

 taking practical shape It is no easy matter 



