not Penrose was taking action in the matter, because you could never
judge a good lawyer's meanings by his speech.

However, if the hens escaped, so did we, and the next morning Bart
forgot his paper until afternoon, so eager was he to test the depth of
soil in the knoll.

I'm sending you a list of the wild things at hand. Will you tell me in
due course which of the ferns are best for our purpose? I've noticed
some of the larger ones turn quite shabby early in August.




VII

A SIMPLE ROSE GARDEN

(Barbara Campbell to Mary Penrose)


_Oaklands, June 5._ Yesterday my roses began to bloom. The very old bush
of thorny, half-double brier roses with petals of soft yellow crêpe, in
which the sunbeams caught and glinted, took the lead as usual. Before
night enough Jacqueminot buds showed rich colour to justify my filling
the bowl on the greeting table, fringing it with sprays of the yellow
brier buds and wands of copper beech now in its velvety perfection of
youth. This morning, the moment that I crossed my bedroom threshold, the
Jacqueminot odour wafted up. Is there anything more like the incense of
praise to the flower lover? Not less individual than the voice of