232 THE GARDEN OF A 



greens, drawing me to the new window-seat. I 

 know that morning and evening will often find me 

 there in comfortable disarray, listening and gazing 

 through the vista of the trees. 



The violets in the frame have done bravely all 

 winter, but now their stems are growing short and 

 the deep purple colour is paling. To-day Evan 

 had his first outdoor buttonhole flower, for snow- 

 drops are too frail for wearing. It was a tiny 

 cluster of Daphne mezereum, nestling in its ever- 

 green leaves, the earliest shrub to blossom, hold- 

 ing the same place in the garden that the trailing 

 arbutus does among woodland flowers. 



March 25. We have a new dog number six. 

 We did not buy him, but were made his guardians in 

 a way impossible to refuse. He is a most unique 

 animal, a real old dog Tray in looks, not years. 

 His name is The Orphan, and he looks it. His 

 coming was in this wise : 



A few days ago a flagman on the branch railway 

 that runs northwest from town was hurt to death 

 by the derailing of a train. Father saw at once 

 that he could live but a few hours, and that freedom 

 from pain was all that he could give him. He 

 asked the man if there was any one he wished to 

 see, any little matter that he would like adjusted. 



