;r 



lot)ge of tbe Bumb porter 



romance and poesy with certain flowers and painting 

 \ JrioT us a glowing floral picture by no means restricted 

 to the simple colours of an Apelles palette. 



Pilgrim, would you catch up an armful of these if 



they were ready at your hand? If so, follow the 



dumb porter and he will show you the promise of 



spring and the dingle dell ; and the gardener will sing 



you occasional songs of his own and will tell you tale 



upon tale of the flowers in which you will hear myth 



and legend, folk-lore and history a-plenty, but of 



horticulture, not a word. In order that those who 



wish may know whence the flowers have been brought 



and who first planted and watered them, small cold 



I frames will be fotmd at the back of the garden where 



\ \ Caxton has carefully preserved these little biographi- 



\ ! cal nothings in the form of foot notes and these 



are open to the inspection of all seekers after exact 



knowledge. /j ;^ (4 t) 



As to the grounds themselves, pray use them as your 

 own. This is no city park in which the weary palmer 

 need dread signs inviting him to keep off the grass and 

 attaching strange and unusual penalties to the break- 

 ing of this or the plucking of that. The grounds, 

 the flowers and the waters are, it is true, as the Brush- 

 wood Boy found them, "strictly preserved," but 

 preserved only in order to emphasise the gardener's 

 hearty invitation to \ ^ 



U V ^ 





k 



\ 



/i, SI 



