1 90 A GARDEN OF PLEASURE 



tennis lawn and there stuck fast several 

 feet deep. The tree measured (half of it 

 standing firm and half stretched on the 

 turf), over 120 feet, and all of it fine sound- 

 hearted timber. It must have been soon 

 after that, I went out to enjoy the tre- 

 mendous music of the storm, raging in the 

 tops of the elms, and watched the old 

 accacia rock and heave up and down from 

 the very roots. It seemed as though 

 every heave might be its last. For on 

 every side but one the roots had entirely 

 given way. It did not altogether go that 

 day. But the poor old accacia tree is 

 sentenced, and before winter ends the axe 

 will have laid it low. Yet one cannot 

 but feel sorry for the nuthatches ! no 

 other tree will afford them with such con- 

 veniently rough bark, for the cracking of 

 their nuts. Up to last week the garden 

 has been full of roses. Pink and crimson 

 and creamy tea-roses, all sweet as summer, 

 and quite unheeding of the weather. 

 Even York and Lancasters have tried 

 their best to bloom, and made some sickly 

 little flowers, which were picked off the 



