CHAPTER II. 
THE AMATEUR, IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Earth’s increase, and foison plenty, 
Barns and garners never empty ; 
Vines, with clust’ring branches growing ; 
Plants with goodly burden bowing 
Spring come to you. at the farthest, 
In the very end of harvest, 
Scarcity, and. want, shall shun you ; 
Ceres’ blessing so is on you. 
The Tempest, IV., 1. 
t ONTACT with the brown earth cures all diseases, miti- 
gates all troubles and anxieties, smooths the wrinkles 
that city cares have engraved on the face ; and re- 
stores, even in the later days of a man’s life, some touches of 
the joy that made gold and honey and music, and ever-chang- 
ing aspirations and fancies of the simplest facts, and, indeed, of 
all the facts of human existence in the happy days of youth. 
Ho you remember the doll’s garden the girls made next to 
yours, and took up your sprouting mustard seed to make a 
hedge all round it to keep the dog out? Ho you remember 
wondering which side up to place the scarlet runner seed, and 
the frantic delight with which you saw green shoots appear on 
the willow sticks you stole from the gardener’s shed, and 
employed to make a terrific palisade to your own garden when 
there were three clumps of crocuses in flower, and some wall- 
flowers almost out, and a rose tree nearly dead through being 
five times transplanted, and the girls broke in again and called 
yon greedy for having all the tops of the pine-apples swathed 
in wool and planted in front of the cottage you had made 
out of a cigar box ? You do remember these things ? Of 
course you do ; you will never forget them ; but this garden 
you are now thinking about will bring the flower of youth to 
beautify your grave experiences, and health , the foundation of 
happiness, will come as a distillation from the earth and its 
