A Long Way Round 



healthy fruit (and people), turn their faces sunward 

 to the south. And the creepers embrace it and 

 bring it naturally into the garden. House and 

 garden should be one. They should give and take 

 and strive always to be worthy of each other. 



" Like marriage," sighs Jane. 



Exactly. And, as in marriage, there is neutral 

 ground — the courtyards — where they can deposit 

 their differences of upbringing and prejudice, and 

 properly admire each other's qualities and make 

 due allowance for each other's failings. 



" Ah ! " sighs Jane. 



" Has John no qualities ? " say I, thinking, of 

 course, that Jane is off upon her own married life. 



" Much worse ! " she says. " He thinks he has 

 no failings." 



It is time to lead Jane on. People always 

 become so sentimental in the woods. 



She shall come down to the old gate which is 

 a bower of carmine pillar and Montana clematis 

 and guelder-rose, while, hard by, a tall silver birch 

 stands sentinel. Lavender grows by the gate, and 

 honesty, megasea and iris on the other side, where 

 the great border of delphiniums reaches back into 

 the wood. This border has grown wider and wider, 

 and at last became so unget-at-able and unmanage- 

 able, that I was compelled to make paths through 



95 



