A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE 169 



ture pleasure, and now he takes his young friend on a 

 daily ramble down the pasture through the bit of marshy 

 ground to the river, always bringing him back within 

 a reasonable length of time, with an air of pride. Evi- 

 dently the hound was lonely. 



The Man from Everywhere, who prowls about even 

 more than usual, using Bart's den for his own mean- 

 while, says that the setter will be ruined, for the hound 

 will be sure to trail him on fox and rabbit, and that 

 in consequence he will never after keep true to birds, but 

 somehow we do not care, this dog-friendship between 

 the stranger and the pup is so interesting. 



By the way, we have financially persuaded Opie to 

 leave his straggling meadow, that carpets our vista to 

 the river, for a wild garden this summer, instead of sell- 

 ing it as "standing grass," which the purchasers had 

 usually mown carelessly and tossed into poor-grade 

 hay, giving a pittance in exchange that went for 

 taxes. 



So many flowers and vines have sprung up under 

 shelter of the tumble-down fences that I was very anx- 

 ious to see what pictures would paint themselves if the 

 canvas, colour, and brushes were left free for the season 

 through. Already we have had our money's worth, 

 so that everything beyond will be an extra dividend. 



