268 EVERSLEY GARDENS 



But when once it was a fait accompli^ he tried 

 to make the best of it by planting and 

 beautifying a strip of three or four hundred 

 yards, lying along the high-road, and sloping 

 down west to the great glebe field. From 

 the Hut he made a level walk with good 

 Rhododendrons on either side ; while as a 

 screen from the road he planted with his 

 own hands a row of Cupressus Lawsoniana 

 on the bank. These have grown into a wall 

 of rich dark green, five-and-twenty feet high ; 

 while the Rhododendrons within, and the 

 many others planted on the Mount itself, 

 have become huge spreading bushes, a beau- 

 tiful sight in June when they are in full 

 blossom. 



An old sand-pit close to the Hut was 

 overgrown with gigantic Brambles, a thorny 

 waste ; and these my father set to work to 

 root out no easy task, as all know who 

 have tried to grub old Brambles. But with 

 a strong clawing-fork, made by the village 

 blacksmith according to his instructions, he 

 would tear up their mighty roots whenever 



