A GARDEN OF SWEET HERBS. I 73 



only separated from the dusty street by a narrow footpath. 

 Every bright little wizened face, and there were many, so 

 strangely in keeping with the hard aspect of the place, 

 smiled a greeting as we passed. 



All these flowering plants one could take in at a glance, 

 but there were still others as interesting and useful as they 

 were plain in appearance. How some of them could add 

 to the savor of a dish or could alleviate pain while the coun- 

 try doctor was still miles away ! 



We could look for the spearmint and the catnip, the 

 sage, the thyme and the summer savory, the bergamot 

 and sweet marjoram, the sweet-grass and tansy with the 

 never forgotten sprigs of ' ' lavender, sweet lavender ' ' and 

 some or all of them would be growing together in grand- 

 mother's garden. 



It is a fashion now to be somewhat old-fashioned and 

 someone in a city, in the summer that has passed, raised a 

 bed of sweet herbs. The leaves were plucked and dried and 

 used for a sachet. The fragrance is so charming and sub- 

 tle ! Ah ! it is said there is nothing like a perfume to 

 arouse old memories, and we are carried back to the days 

 that some of us never knew ; where only the imagination 

 can lend a hand. 



But we can picture the old-fashioned garden and the 

 prim bonnet and short-waisted gown bending over it fondly, 

 and we love the very outlines of the figure. 



Those days were fraught with hardship, exposure and 

 limitations, and not many would turn back the wheel if 

 they could, but it is refreshing in these days of conventional 

 living to contemplate the time when life was simple, pleas- 

 ures were fewer and people lived more for each other. 



If we could all make a garden of sweet herbs it would be 

 pleasant, and, perhaps, we should dream dreams we have 

 never dreamed before. 



