May 5. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
85 
! 
honest, industrious, and a tolerable workman, I took him 
into my employ at the rate of Tl per week. Here he soon 
evinced, what I afterwards found, from information and 
experience, was his ruling characteristic, a discontented spirit, 
always yearning for Letter times and Letter countries. His 
wages were certainly ample to keep him in comfort and 
respectability; but, nevertheless, he thought otherwise; a 
thought enhanced, perhaps, by the prospect of his marriage to 
a respectable young woman to whom he had long plighted his 
troth ; and who became his wife about a twelvemonth after he 
entered my service. Often did he complain to me of the 
hardness of the times, the dearness of provisions, and the 
difficulty of providing for his wife, with what he considered 
such small means. I was wont to point out to him the 
difference between his position and thousands of others 
who were living on half his income; and took the opportunity 
of impressing upon him the thought of another world, and 
reminding him of his inconsistency in thinking with so 
much dissatisfaction of this, instead of having his heart filled 
with gratitude for the many mercies he enjoyed. To my 
great discomfort, I could never ascertain that lie habitually 
went to a place of worship; and that, although a strict moral 
man, I had reason to fear he entertained but few serious 
thoughts. His discontent increased. England, he said, 
had seen her best days ; there was no chance for the working 
man; rates were so high; provisions so dear; in fact, his 
heart was yearning for another land. 
“His wife bore him three children, fine chubby little things 
they were; the two younger ones were twins. Here was 
another subject of discontent; how could he possibly support 
them on T'l per week? things were bad enough when he 
was a bachelor; but now, how could he exist? His wife was 
a quiet, tidy person of few words; and when any visitors 
called upon her they could elicit little from her. She 
looked, however, always clean and respectable, and seemed 
to keep his home in comfort. His prejudice against his 
native country increased almost to a mania; he was constantly 
poring over books on emigration, especially on South 
Australia. This was long before the discovery of gold in 
these auriferous regions. His whole thoughts were occupied 
on the subject, to the considerable detriment of his business; 
the position of each town was as clearly defined in his mind 
as on a map ; and the peculiarities of the climate, and its 
adaptation to the growth of particular trees and grain, was 
fully understood by him; and I subsequently ascertained 
that his notion of emigrating was to cultivate the Pine, and 
keep a dairy. 
“ Finding that he had fully made up his mind on the 
subject, I did not oppose it, and told him that I would do 
all I could to assist him. The excellent Vicar of the parish 
ii\ which he resided took up the matter warmly, and though 
before unknown to him, wrote many letters on his behalf to 
the Emigration Committee, and, eventually, all difficulties 
were removed, so that to his great joy and satisfaction the 
day for his sailing was fixed. Alas ! that men would seek a 
H eavenly country with half the ardour and perseverance 
with which William Green sought an earthly one ; then, 
indeed, should we have less repining and fretfulness, and 
more thanksgivings for the blessings we enjoy in our native 
land ! ” 
The conclusion of this eventful narrative I must defer to 
my next paper, and request my readers, in the mean time, 
to ponder the last remark; that if we sought an Heavenly 
country with half the earnestness with which poor Green 
sought an earthly one, things would go better with us than 
they do. There is no peace to a discontented spirit—it is a 
perpetual punishment. It is like the craving of a sick 
stomach after some fancied delicacy, which makes it turn 
away from the wholesome nourishment that would give it 
strength; and when the longing is gratified, loathing or 
increased disorder of the stomach most frequently takes 
place. A discontented heart is a diseased one. We are 
hewing out for ourselves “broken cisterns that can hold no 
water.” We are craving after some fancied good which, 
when we have with labour and difficulty obtained, we find 
not to be the thing it seemed, or that we fancied it; and 
then, instead of mourning over our rebelliousness of heart, 
and want of faith, we throw all the blame upon other things, 
or people, and persuade ourselves that if this had only been 
that, or that had only been the other, we should have found 
things just as we expected, and all would have been 
well. 
I dare say, indeed I am sure, that there are many men 
feeling and acting like William Green ; thinking times are 
very bad; wages very low; masters very hard in their 
dealings. A young man starts early in life upon Tl per 
week; this is very comfortable for himself, but he resolves 
to marry, and then he finds it impossible to maintain a wife 
upon it. What must it be when two or three children are 
added to the little household ? The times; the wages ; the 
masters, are blamed ; but where lies the real fault? Then, 
again, people say—“ But it is very hard that I can’t marry, 
and have a home of my own.” It may seem hard; but we 
little know, when our way is hedged in, what misfortunes 
are hedged out. We only know the troubles we make for 
ourselves—we do not see those from which a gracious 
Father protects us, because they are, perhaps, warded off 
by circumstances that are very disagreeable or distressing to 
us. A man thinks it very hard that he cannot marry the 
woman he likes, so he takes her in spite of everything; 
and then he thinks it very hard that he cannot support her, 
and grumbles at the hardness of his employer for not raising 
his wages. Debt, privation, most likely domestic unhappi¬ 
ness, and worldly troubles, follow very fast; but what does 
it all spring from ? From an imprudent act. If we cannot 
lawfully, prudently, or religiously undertake a step, depend 
upon it, the angel of the Lord is standing in the way before us; 
and if we force our way, as Balaam did, by headstrong and 
passionate determination, we shall be crushed against the j 
wall as he was, and our plans and undertakings will as cer¬ 
tainly break down and throw us to the ground. 
I have enlarged on this subject, because I think it one of 
some importance, particularly in this present day; and I 
request those of my readers who may feel sympathy with 
William Green, in his wishes and expectations, to wait 
quietly until I can lay before them the conclusion of the 
whole matter; considering, in the meantime, whether they 
have not, thoughtlessly, or passionately, taken some un¬ 
advised step in life. All are liable to err; but instead of 
blundering on in the same dark road, if we waited upon 
God, and sought help and direction from Him, we might 
recover from much of our own evil doing, and, at all events, 
be preserved for the future from the fatal mischiefs and 
follies into which we have hitherto run. 
PARTIAL PARALYSIS IN A HEN. 
A Pop.kino hen, nearly two years of age, up to yesterday- 
lias been in excellent health, is a regular layer, and has 
of late surpassed herself as regards the size of her eggs. 
She has been well and regularly fed, but by no means (as I 
believe) overfed. Yesterday morning she was discovered by 
the fowl-keeper, lying upon the stage under the perch with 
her neck twisted as if it had been wrung The feathers of 
the neck were all turned in a manner to give the same 
impression, and the head was twisted round, so that the bird 
looked along her own back at her tail. She could not stand, 
and appeared to suffer much. I naturally expected an 
accident of some sort, if not intentional foul play on the 
part of some person or beast; but subsequent observation 
lias removed the suspicion. The hen was put into a basket 
and taken into the kitchen; castor oil v ; as administered 
copiously internally, and the neck' (which I could feel to be 
unbroken) was lubricated with plenty of sweet oil. She 
remained very ill all day, with much fever, and little or no 
appetite. This morning she appeared better; the external 
application of oil was repeated, and by mid-day she v-as 1 
walking about, apparently free from pain, but with her head 
and neck still twisted to such an extent as to render it 
extremely difficult for her to pick up food; in fact, it w r as 
turned about three parts round, instead of entirely round 
upon her back. It appears to give her no pain if the head 
be held by the hand in its proper position (though it makes 
her a little uneasy), but the moment'the hand is withdrawn 
it returns to its unnatural position. More than once T 
believed that things were coming right of themselves, but 
ahvays at this juncture a strange kind of fit has come on. 
The poor creature stands still and begins tinning her head | 
