20 A GARDEN OF PLEASURE 



house, however, is a large Eft. I found 

 him one day outside the door, in a puddle 

 of rain, asking, as plain as words, to be al- 

 lowed to get inside to be warm. So I took 

 the clammy creature up, and placed him 

 within amongst the ferns and pebbles, and 

 never since has he vouchsafed us a single 

 glimpse of himself. This is a draw-back, 

 for he is extremely handsome. Black, 

 with orange spots, and orange throat. 

 Efts of this kind are not uncommon, 

 though, perhaps, seldom seen so large as 

 our friend, who measured something like 

 ten inches. They are found under stones 

 in dampish places, mostly in churchyards. 

 The small dry brown efts, that some- 

 times walk in at the door from the garden, 

 are not so handsome, but certainly are 

 pleasanter to handle, and the expression 

 of their face is rather pathetic. 



Once, and once only, in the far past, 

 I found a Golden Eft ! It must have been 

 the Queen eft, and it dwelt in one of 

 the most fascinating ponds on Wimbledon 

 Common. The colour was purest yellow- 

 gold, and near its head it wore beautiful 



