garden; that is to say, I charged my Englishman to see that my
Irishman did his duty properly, and then got on to my horse and rode
to the city. But about one part of the matter, I must say, I was not
remiss; and that is, in the purchase of seed and garden utensils. Not
a day passed that I did not come home with my pockets stuffed with
choice seeds, roots, etc.; and the variety of my garden utensils was
unequaled. There was not a priming hook of any pattern, not a hoe,
rake, or spade great or small, that I did not have specimens of; and
flower seeds and bulbs were also forthcoming in liberal proportions.
In fact, I had opened an account at a thriving seed store; for when a
man is driving business on a large scale, it is not always convenient
to hand out the change for every little matter, and buying things on
account is as neat and agreeable a mode of acquisition as paying bills
with one's notes.

"You know we must have a cow," said my wife, the morning of our second
week. Our friend the gardener, who had now worked with us at the rate
of two dollars a day for two weeks, was at hand in a moment in our
emergency. We wanted to buy a cow, and he had one to sell--a wonderful
cow, of a real English breed. He would not sell her for any money,
except to oblige particular friends; but as we had patronized him, we
should have her for forty dollars. How much we were obliged to him!
The forty dollars were speedily forthcoming, and so also was the cow.

"What makes her shake her head in that way?" said my wife, apprehensively,
as she observed the interesting beast making sundry demonstrations with
her horns. "I hope she's gentle."

The gardener fluently demonstrated that the animal was a pattern of
all the softer graces, and that this head-shaking was merely a little
nervous affection consequent on the embarrassment of a new position.
We had faith to believe almost anything at this time, and therefore
came from the barn yard to the house as much satisfied with our
purchase as Job with his three thousand camels and five hundred yoke
of oxen. Her quondam master milked her for us the first evening, out
of a delicate regard to her feelings as a stranger, and we fancied
that we discerned forty dollars' worth of excellence in the very
quality of the milk.

But alas! the next morning our Irish girl came in with a most rueful
face. "And is it milking that baste you'd have me be after?" she said;
"sure, and she won't let me come near h