Excuse and Epilogue 



by the Japanese Exhibition, stone lanterns, and 

 wells, and red gates. . . . ! 



Financially speaking, no gardener should ever 

 go near the Horticultural Society's Gardens at 

 Wisley, or to any of the shows, or journey on the 

 South Western Railway past Messrs. Barr's, or on 

 the Great Western, by Sutton's, or admit a cata- 

 logue to her house, or discuss these things with 

 any other woman who has a garden. . . . 



They waken desire, and though scientists assure 

 us in their delightfully naive way that "desire 

 results in form," yet that is little consolation when 

 desire is thwarted and instead of " form," there is 

 produced only " envy, hatred, malice and all un- 

 charitableness." To an independent spirit, these 

 states of mind are intolerable, and, therefore, as 

 soon as may be, I propose to succumb to all the 

 aforesaid temptations held out by the various 

 catalogues, and to purchase magnolias, and 

 Japanese maples, and all costly and rare herbs: 

 lilies that toil not nor spin, and yet are more 

 beautifully arrayed than Solomon in all his glory : 

 anything and everything that may bring more and 

 more colour and life to the garden. . . . 



For that, and that alone, I have conducted 

 Jane on her zigzag tour, and, since it is the custom 

 to apologise for a book, I offer that as my excuse, 



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