'^ PASTIME FOR THE RICH 245 



them to cultivate a taste for some easier, life- 

 saving activity. 



But there is one occupation which it is never 

 too late to seek refuge in. 



Gardening is certainly the next amusement to read- 

 ing, and, as my sight will permit me little of that, I am 

 glad to form a taste that can give me so much enjoy- 

 ment and be the plaything of my age, now my pen 

 and needle are almost useless to me. I am really as 

 fond of my garden as a young author of his first play 

 when it has been well received by the town. 



So wrote Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to 

 the Countess of Bute, to whom she eloquently 

 describes her walks garnished with beds of 

 flowers, her wild vines twisting to the tops of 

 the highest trees, her little wood carpeted with 

 violets and strawberries and inhabited by a 

 nation of nightingales and game of all kinds. 



HAVE A LITTLE GARDEN IN YOUR HOME 



Men and women of America, if you wish to 

 live long and be healthy and happy, follow the 

 example of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and 

 make a garden the plaything of your advancing 

 age. You will soon learn to enjoy it as a child 

 enjoys its new toys; your boredom will vanish; 

 life in the open will paint your cheeks red, give 

 you a good appetite, and once more open your 

 clogged senses to the beauties and enchantments 

 of nature which you knew as a child, but had 

 forgotten during the years when you were 



