158 IDLEHURST: 



of dirty fingers and worse contingency, the mere time 

 lost between gathering and cooking destroys all the 

 finer essence of the herb, the inward aroma, the clean 

 wholesomeness. A cucumber twelve hours out of the 

 frame is simple poison ; belated lettuces even peas 

 may be eatable (as many things unseasonable may 

 be done with at a pinch ; November roses, or a bride 

 at forty) ; but the man who can, in the words of the 

 classic, " go into the garden and cut a cabbage " to 

 say nothing of Paxtons, Blackhearts, or Jargonelles 

 has a treasure out of reach of the common variety 

 of millionnaire. 



About teatime came the Rector, on his way back 

 from visiting a far corner of the parish, white-footed, 

 and glad of the yew-tree shade and the tea poured 

 out by Mrs. Kitty, who arrived with Gervase about 

 the same time, on a pretext of getting rose-buddings. 

 Gervase had spent a week in London on his way 

 back from Oxford. He took his Second in Mods. ; 

 the Newdigate was not for him this year : he proposes 

 to have a " thorough slack " in the country, profess- 

 ing satiety of Oxford things. This will pass, I doubt 

 not, some time before the cheery October term calls 

 again to the grey city of youth. 



The Rector had been to see old Widow Blackman, 

 the representative, with a sadly pinched jurisdiction, 



