A GARDEN DIARY 29 



of even the most obdurate obstructor being- de- 



o 



spatched to either the Tower, or the Block. 



It was Cuttle who provided me with that satis- 

 faction, and it is not one of the least of the many 

 debts that I owe him. 



" What can be the name of this thing, I wonder, 

 Cuttle ? " I said, rising exhausted from an effort 

 to hinder a fresh colony from enmeshing and 

 strangling a line of " Laurette Messimy " which 

 had been recently planted upon the top of a 

 slope. 



"I'm not sure as I can tell you its proper 

 name, ma'am, but about here we calls it 'Snaking 

 Tommy.' " 



Admirable Cuttle! "Snaking Tommy" of 

 course ! The instant I heard it I felt convinced 

 that in that preliminary naming of all plants 

 and animals performed by Adam in the garden 

 of Eden, that, and no other, must have been 

 the name bestowed upon this. It is true some 

 theologian might assure me that there were no 

 weeds in the garden of Eden, but that I think is 

 not particularly likely, because, whether there 

 were weeds in that garden or not, there are 

 certainly no theologians in this one. Moreover 

 we all know that the snake was there, to 

 everyone's immeasurable discomfort. And if 

 the snake, why not, let me ask, " Snaking 

 Tommy " ? 



