Ill 



Cherry Walk and Lawn 



To be really thorough, I would have to set out 

 my lease, a proper parchment, with its scrolled 

 writing, saying loudly : 



"TEbis 3noenture Mitnessetb — " 



But it would be polite on your part to take the 

 lease for granted, and to assume that I have not 

 squatted, or taken any advantage of the confused 

 law relating to Real Property in England. There 

 is a blot on the escutcheon of the garden. Origin- 

 ally three acres, my predecessor's gardener took in 

 a few yards every year by putting, first of all, trees 

 outside the fence, then the fence outside the trees. 

 It was his delight, too, to plant everything with a 

 view to its being seen by the passer-by on the 

 road. Did I tell you that the garden was entirely 

 overlooked from the road ? But I soon saw to that, 

 and one of the first things I did was to plant a fir 

 hedge, and it is now quite ten feet in height, and 

 that, with all the flowering trees and shrubs, most 



47 



