FEBRUARY 3$ 



heard her voice. Echoes are rare here on 

 the flat. We had one in a gable of the 

 house, but she went away or was lost when 

 the yew hedges were planted. In some 

 counties they say the bulls in the fields are 

 made savage by hearing their own cries 

 re - echoing from the woods and hills 

 around. 



We have had busy days of late trimming 

 the creepers all round the house. Long 

 prunings of honeysuckles and jasmine 

 with leafy splendours of Magnolia, lay in 

 lavish waste upon the gravel, and the air 

 was full of the curious pungency of ivy 

 leaves. Pruning days are my delight, 

 when the laurel and box are trimmed, 

 and the aroma of them scents the whole 

 place, and clipped sprigs fall, and are 

 spread about, strewing the ground as if for 

 some garden triumph. One day last spring 

 (it was on May 12) I thought to try a little 

 pruning on my own account, and severed 

 a long healthy branch of vine, which, 

 when in leaf, would smother a young pome- 

 granate growing on the south wall. I 

 shall never forget what followed the rash 



