beautiful things, but then they paid no profit.

When one strikes a vein that happens to be profitable, he is apt to
become impatient of doing well in a small way, and forthwith casts about
for ways and means to increase its productiveness, as he thinks, by
enlarging his operations. It was natural for me to conclude, that, if I
were thus fortunate on one acre, I could do much better by cultivating
more. I presume this hankering after additional acres must be a national
weakness, as there were numerous disquisitions on the subject scattered
through my agricultural papers, in many of which I noticed that there
was great fault-finding because men in this country undertook the
cultivation of twice as much land as they could properly manage. The
propensity for going on and enlarging their possessions seemed a very
general one. Thus even I, in my small way, was insensibly becoming a
disciple of these deluded people. But there was this comfort in my case,
that, while others were able to enlarge, even to their ruin, there was a
limit to my expansion, as it was impossible for me to go beyond an acre
and a half.

That afternoon we had just got well under way at picking, when a man
came into the garden with a bundle of hoes and rakes on his shoulder,
and coming up to us, took off his hat and bowed with the utmost
deference, then drew from his pocket a letter, which, singularly enough,
he handed to me, instead of giving it either to my mother or Jane. On
opening it, I found it to be a note from Mr. Logan, in which he said he
had noticed that our garden-tools were so heavy as to be entirely unfit
for ladies' use, and he had therefore taken the liberty of sending me a
variety of others that were made expressly for female gardeners, asking
me to do him the great favor to accept them. Both my mother and Jane had
stopped picking, as this unexpected donation was laid before us, so I
read the note aloud to them, the messenger having previously taken his
leave. I think, altogether, it was the greatest surprise we had ever
had.

"The next thing, I suppose," said Jane, "you'll have him down here to
show you how to use them"; and she laughed so heartily as quite to
mortify me. I understood her meaning, but my mother did not appear to
comprehend it, for she replied, with the utmost gravity,--

"No need of his coming to teach us; haven't we been hoeing all our
lives?"

"Not _us_, mother," interrupted Jane, in her peculiarly provoking way,