THE SIX OF SPADES. 43 



And while the pretty Mrs. Chiswick conducts the 

 nursery department, and every year some " striking 

 novelty " is added to her " hardy annuals," " quite 

 distinct," and a " decided acquisition " in the happy 

 mother's eyes, her husband is making admirable 

 improvements in the spacious gardens of the Hall. 

 His predecessor, old Mr. Woodhead, had been a hard- 

 working man, and a good gardener as far as he went ; 

 but he was, metaphorically, a slow horse, more 

 adapted for harness than for hunting, and when he 

 had reached a certain point in horticulture, there he 

 stopped in hopeless immobility, and no spurs could 

 induce him to charge another fence. I remember, 

 year after year, the same plants in the conservatory 

 (ah ! those were merry times for the apis, " days of 

 strength and glory " for the red-spider !), the same 

 designs in the flower-garden, the same bouquets in the 

 drawing-room, and the same fruits and flowers upon 

 the table. I think I see his cinerarias now, with their 

 pointed petals (number unknown) widely separated, 

 as though they hated one another. The ladies of the 

 Hall were delighted, indeed, when such flowers as 

 " Lord Stamford " and the " Scottish Chieftain " (I 

 am speaking of favourites in request some twenty-five 

 years ago) displaced these dingy specimens ; and yet 

 more gratified were they, when the summer came, 

 and, sitting upon the pretty garden-chairs of Mr. 

 Chiswick's design, they saw the beautiful contrasts of 

 modern taste, Flora's bright jewels set in gold and 

 silver (" Golden Chain " and " Mangle's Silver "), and 

 set so skilfully that, while each separate gem shone in 

 its distinct and glowing beauty, the collective whole 



