First Flights — Narrow Escape. 19 



to build in that sort of way, tliey are so particular 

 about turning every inch of space to account ; and 

 one might tell from a glance at the outside of a 

 modern house the situation of all the rooms within. 

 Well, that wasn't the case with Heathercombe, at 

 any rate ; but, such as it was, no one could have 

 helped saying, " What a dear, comfortable old place ! 

 I wonder what its history is ? There must be plenty 

 of stories belonging to it." And so there were, as 

 even the old lime trees in the avenue knew quite 

 well. 



The garden exactly suited the house, so it is 

 hardly necessary to say that there was nothing formal 

 about it. You couldn't take in the whole pattern of 

 the flower-beds at once, as if you were looking at a 

 Turkey carpet ; for little narrow paths, that twisted 

 about as much as they possibly could, led you to all 

 kinds of odd nooks and out-of-the-way corners, here 

 passing a quaint bit of yew hedge, and there round- 

 ing a clump of enormous shrubs ; and in all the 

 corners and in every nook you would find a little 

 flower-bed or two, filled with dear old-fashioned 

 flowers — moss roses, wall-flowers, columbines, stocks, 

 marigolds, and many others ; and hardly any of 

 those eternal geraniums with dreadful names, and 

 calceolarias of high degree, which have to be shown 



