28 LETTERS TO MARCO iv 



the first blossoms of the year, stay out too 

 late and get overtaken by the night chill 

 before they can reach their home. 



The robins have still their winter tame- 

 ness, and as I sow my annuals one will perch 

 almost at arm's length, singing the sweetest 

 little gentle song of congratulation. 



Yesterday Alice and I rode over to 

 Ewelme on our tricycles to get some water- 

 cresses. I thought of you much, especially 

 when I saw the swans on the mill-pond at 

 Benson. The .little mill at Ewelme was 

 burnt down last year and is now a most 

 wonderfully picturesque ruin with the water 

 tumbling over it in wild confusion. 



I grieve to think of leaving here so soon, 

 and that some of my greatest pets in the 

 flower-garden will bloom and fade during 

 the time I am hanging the pictures at 

 the R.A. 



G. D. L, 



