1 68 A GARDEN DIARY 



of course that it should do so, rarely even taking 

 the trouble to say " Thank you." 



By way of commentary upon the above reflec- 

 tion I have just taken up a newspaper from the 

 table, and this is what has met my eye. It is an 

 extract apparently out of a letter home. 



" We found some water at last near Stinkfon- 

 tein" suggestive name "but the place was 

 very shallow, and the mud black and deep. We 

 could not get the horses to look at it, but the 

 men drank it greedily, and drank it too at the 

 only place where they could reach it, which was 

 where the hoofs had churned it into a blackish 

 liquor, thick as soup." 



Poor Tommy ! Yet there are people who 

 declare that you are not fond of water! Evi- 

 dently this is another of those libels of which 

 you have been too long the subject. 



