May 15.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
103 
James Wiltshire lived for nearly twenty years in a 
gentleman's family, as butler, with great credit and respect¬ 
ability. On his master’s death, he entered service again 
with a very high character, and for some years retained liis 
situation quietly and comfortably, and was much regarded, 
because his attention to his religious duties was uniform, 
and spoke well for the principle upon which he acted. At 
length, Wiltshire, who had always a great fondness for 
outdoor pursuits, for poultry, gardening, &c., and who was 
getting old enough to long to be his own master, could not 
resist the pleasure of renting a small farm, and investing 
his little savings in stock. He was a single man, and, 
therefore, had everything to do himself; but lie began by 
taking a housekeeper, until he found himself cheated and 
inconvenienced. Then he sent for a niece, with whom he 
went on for a long time, but she married and left him ; and 
he then undertook to be all in all to himself, and being a 
very handy person in every way, he got on tolerably well. 
For the first year or two, Wiltshire steadily kept up his 
Sunday duties, as far as could be seen. He always contrived 
to attend church at least once a day, and he was as regular 
in his appearance at the Lord’s table. But by degrees his 
attendance slackened, his seat was frequently empty, his 
suit of black grew browner and browner, and the powder 
which he long retained in his hair gradually disappeared, 
so that a change was already apparent in his outward man. 
When his absence from church was remarked, he made the 
same excuses that people always make on such occasions— 
“ the cows, and the pigs, and sum’mut ” were always in the 
way. He could not contrive his worldly affairs so as to 
serve two masters; if he had, he would have done what never 
man could do; but the one lie loved and chose to obey was 
mammon. The “piece of ground,” the “five yoke of oxen,” 
triumphed, and the service of Gocl was given up. 
From that time Wiltshire's glory departed. The calm, 
contented smile that used to be seen, was gone. He worked 
away, it is true, early and late, and ate “the bread of 
carefulness; ” but he seemed not to enjoy the “ sleep ’’ that 
is given to those who love and serve God. There was care 
upon his brow, and peace of mind was gone. There is a 
steady, respectable walk in life which looks very well in the 
eyes of men, who cannot see below the surface; but it is not 
religious principle, or it would stand steadfast in the day of 
trial. “ Slippery places ” show which is gold and which is 
base metal; and men are brought into them as warnings to 
others, as well as to arouse their own souls. 
Wiltshire very soon began to reap the fruit of his doings; 
everything seemed to go backwards instead of forwards with 
him; he became in arrears for rent, and although he met 
with patience and consideration, the debt gradually grew 
larger, and of course more difficult to pay. The slippery 
place tried his honesty, and proved it to be wanting. It had 
looked fair to the eye, but it bore no stamp, and could not, 
therefore, bear the heat of the furnace. 
News was brought one morning that James Wiltshire had 
decamped in the night, with his waggon and horses, and 
bed and clock. It was too true; not a vestige of him or his 
stock was to be found. The house was deserted, the stable 
and cow-houses empty; a rick or two of damaged hay, and 
the crops in the ground, were all that remained to mark 
where his place had been. The removal of all his effects, 
such as they were, with the cows, pigs, &c., had been very 
quietly and carefully done; no one suspected him of such 
conduct, or thought of watching his proceedings, and be had, 
therefore, a full opportunity of getting away with them all. 
He did not leave the county; in fact he stationed himself in 
the next town, trusting that no steps would be taken against 
him, and attempted to set up a small farm in the neighbour¬ 
hood. But this came to an untimely end also; and the 
last information that we received of his whereabout, de¬ 
scribed him as the occupier of a small wooden house upon 
wheels, in the midst of a large, wild field, with pigs, and 
rabbits, and fowls, all penned safely around him. The 
house is said to have been built with his own hands; and in 
this dreary and desolate state, the* respectable and well-con¬ 
ducted butler of former days, now lives almost an outcast. 
This sketch may be useful to some who bear very fair 
characters in their neighbour’s eyes. It may throw some 
light upon the real state of their hearts, and lead them to 
watch for symptoms which sometimes the sunshine of 
prosperity hides from our eyes. There may be a very 
hollow and sapless trunk, while the boughs bear an ap¬ 
parently healthy foliage;—there may be rich and vigorous 
leaves, but no fruit beneath them. Let us look deeply and 
closely at the root and spring of all our actions, lest there be j 
bitterness in that which seems fair and good. When we see 
our trees and plants beginning to wither, we know there is 
something wrong below the soil; and when our ways begin : 
to grow crooked, we may be equally sure that our root is j 
diseased, and unless we seek out the canker, the plant will 
wither and die. If godly sincerity be not the moving spring 
of every fair appearance, the day will come when our leaf 
will wither, and our fruit shall not be found. 
NEGLECTED PLANTS SUITABLE FOB, EABLY 
SUMMER DECORATION. 
As the revival of annuals, for purposes of floral display, 
has latterly attracted much notice, allow me to call attention 
to a much-neglected, and, in my opinion, a much more use¬ 
ful class—I mean Herbaceous plants. They are more useful, 
because they are easier to manage, better able to resist the 
attacks of insects and other casualties, which so often gap 
and disfigure beds of annuals, and, what is equally important, 
are quite as beautiful. I am sorry and surprised that the 
easy culture, sturdy habit, and numberless variety of Herba¬ 
ceous plants, have not again placed them on the same 
footing, as regards garden decoration, they held in the time 
of our grandfathers ; but I hope to live to see them restored 
to the favour they deserve. However, my purpose was not 
to write a panegyric on their general utility, as a class, but to 
notice some few that I have found useful in ornamenting 
sets of flower-beds in the spring and early summer months; 
and in so doing, I will confine myself to such as I have 
proved to be suitable for that purpose. 
First, then, on my list is the beautiful Alyssum saxalile, 
with its profusion of golden umbells of glittering flowers, 
blooming in early May, and so easily removed to make way 
for another crop. It is easily increased by cuttings, but 
more so by seeds, when it produces them, which it does more 
sparingly than most of the plants belonging to the same 
class. It stands the winter well; and hares and rabbits do 
not seem to relish it. This property, though of no conse¬ 
quence to the denizen of thickly populated districts, is of 
much importance to many gardeners where the grounds are 
surrounded by game preserves. I do not know of any plant 
(not even the gay Calceolaria) that affords a brighter yellow 
bed than does this very old plant, and in that colour it 
stands Lord of the Parterre with me for spring display. 
I have grown it for several years, always taking it up when 
other things were to be planted in its place, and planting it 
for the summer in a quiet place. 
In the whites I have not been so successful for an early 
bloomer; but I grow a great quantity of the Double White 
Rocket, which, however, scarcely flowers before the end of 
May and early in June, and, consequently, I plant it in the 
autumn, and, at the proper time, plant the ordinary summer- 
flowering plants amongst them, and its magnificent spikes of 
white blossoms make it everybody’s favourite. It increases 
freely from slips taken off when the plant has made a fresh 
growth; say in the middle or end of August, and the sturdy 
appearance of the plant makes it of no little service in fur¬ 
nishing the beds in winter; consequently, I plant it in 
autumn, when the summer crop has been removed, and the 
necessary enriching substance put in the bed for the next 
year, as we must bear in mind that Tom Thumbs, Ver¬ 
benas, or whatever plant is intended to succeed it, must be 
planted some time before it be removed, and the soil of the 
bed cannot then be removed with any degree of use. There 
is likewise a purple one of the same habit; but I have not 
been able to increase it sufficiently to make it useful, other¬ 
wise it is equally available. 
Another white flowering plant, and one which continues 
the whole summer, forming as good a white flowering bed 
as anything (Verbenas and Petunias excepted), is the 
Double-flowerimj Feverfew (Pyrethrum parthenium). This 
flowers from the middle of May to the end of the season. 
I let it stand (as it increases so freely by cuttings), and 
usually plant with it the Scarlet Penstemon, being something 
capable of competing with it for the food and space both 
