8 BY WAY OF DEDICATION. 



thought of her yielding a simple faith to what a 

 gainsaying world may have regarded with levity 

 has contributed much to give an increased prac- 

 tical turn to my reports of what I know about 

 gardening. The thought that I had misled a 

 lady, whose age is not her only singularity, who 

 looked to me for advice which should be not at 

 all the fanciful product of the Garden of Gull, 

 would give me great pain. I trust that her 

 autumn is a peaceful one, and undisturbed by 

 either the humorous or the satirical side of 

 Nature. 



You know that this attempt to tell the truth 

 about one of the most fascinating occupations in 

 the world has not been without its dangers. I 

 have received anonymous letters. Some of them 

 were murderously spelled ; others were missives 

 in such elegant phrase and dress, that danger 

 was only to be apprehended in them by one 

 skilled in the mysteries of mediaeval poisoning, 



