236 OCCASIONAL HAPPY THOUGHTS. 



of the thickly-wooded country by which we seemed to be 

 edged in on every side. My Well-informed Friend im- 

 proved the occasion by giving us a few statistics on apple- 

 growing. The statistics were, on examination, limited to the 

 information that Devonshire and Cornwall were great apple 

 counties, that Brittany resembled both these, in having 

 plenty of orchards, and that he himself invariably took cider- 

 cup at his Club in summer, which of course went far to en- 

 courage the general trade in England and France. 



My Well-informed Friend was immense on architecture. 

 When we visited a Cathedral or any ancient church, my^ 

 Step-Grandmother begged that we might have a verger, or 

 some one who knew all about it. 



" / can tell you all about it," said my Well-informed 

 Friend, qualifying this assertion immediately afterwards 

 by adding, " That is, quite as much as you'll want to 

 know." 



My Grandmother yielded at first, and so did I. When we 

 were quit of my Well-informed Friend, we delivered our- 

 selves over to professional guides, and the amount of re- 

 markable things which we had allowed to escape our notice, 

 owino- to our reliance upon our friend's information, would 

 have formed quite a valuable catalogue. " That's Saxon," 

 he used to say, pointing to a plain archway, " and that's 

 Norman," pointing to another uncommonly hke the first. 

 ■' That's pointed Gothic, and that the floriated Gothic, all 

 different styles at different periods. Here ! " he would con- 

 tinue, moving us on rapidly, so as to avoid giving us a 

 minute to think over details, " is a lovely Rose Window ; and 



