WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 71 



Indeed, I offered him a Connecticut six; 

 but he wittily said that he did not like a 

 weed in a garden, a remark which I took 

 to have a personal political bearing, and 

 changed the subject. 



The President was a good deal surprised 

 at the method and fine appearance of my 

 garden, and to learn that I had the sole care 

 of it. He asked me if I pursued an original 

 course, or whether I got my ideas from wri- 

 ters on the subject. I told him that I had 

 had no time to read anything on the subject 

 since I began to hoe, except " Lothair," 

 from which I got my ideas of landscape-gar- 

 dening ; and that I had worked the garden 

 entirely according to my own notions, except 

 that I had borne in mind his injunction, " to 

 fight it out on this line if v The President 

 stopped me abruptly, and said it was un- 

 necessary to repeat that remark : he thought 

 he had heard it before. Indeed, he deeply 

 regretted that he had ever made it. Some- 

 times, he said, after hearing it in speeches, 

 and coming across it in resolutions, and 



