128 THE GARDEN OF A 



hour the deities of Sun, Rain, and Seasonable 

 Weather, so that I may secretly propitiate them with 

 offerings. It was a woman gardener who said feel- 

 ingly, " Paul may plant, but if Apollos declines to 

 water, what can one do about it?" 



In these days, however, all well-conducted dwell- 

 ers in the country have artesian wells and wind- 

 mills, and are thereby able, up to a certain point, by 

 means of a diamond spray sprinkler, to sneeze in 

 the face of so important a person as even Apollos 

 himself. 



Of course we have one of these wells, both for 

 outdoor convenience and because father has been 

 trying for many years to convince the community 

 that neighbourliness does not require them to drink 

 each other's drainage. This they do inevitably on 

 the village and river side of the hills, where wells 

 and cesspools alternate with great regularity. Surely 

 the country life is the healthiest in the world, other- 

 wise the rank and file of people who live it would 

 never survive the liberties they take with them- 

 selves ! 



This morning when father, Evan, and I, fol- 

 lowed by Tim and Bertie, arrived at the garden a 



