I4O MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN. 



and why does a growth of oak-trees always 

 come up after a growth of pine has been re- 

 moved ?) - in short, we had pretty nearly 

 reached a solution of many mysteries, when 

 Phelps suddenly exclaimed with uncommon 

 energy, 



" Wall, there 's one thing that beats me ! " 



" What 's that ? " we asked with undisguised 

 curiosity. 



" That 's ' pusley ' ! " he replied, in the tone of 

 a man who has come to one door in life which is 

 hopelessly shut, and from which he retires in 

 despair. 



" Where it comes from I don't know, nor what 

 to do with it. It 's in my garden ; and I can't 

 get rid of it. It beats me." 



About " pusley " the guide had no theory and 

 no hope. A feeling of awe came over me, as we 

 lay there at midnight, hushed by the sound of 

 the stream and the rising wind in the spruce- 



