THE TULIPS. 105 



see I am here." M. Durut was a man of fifty years of age, 

 invariably dressed in an old great-coat and a shabby hat, who 

 was at war with the whole neighbourhood, and was ruining 

 himself with lawsuits, one brought on by another. As he 

 was very much engaged with his lawsuits, he was talking of 

 them incessantly, and adorned the accounts he gave of them 

 with all sorts of invectives and maledictions against his 

 adversaries; in addition to which disadvantage, he never 

 seemed to remember that he had sold his enclosure. When 

 he spoke of it, he always said my garden, and found fault 

 with everything that was done in it; it was much better 

 managed in his time. " What do you take up this for ? What 

 do you plant that for? You are spoiling everything." Arnold 

 was a mild man, but the annoyance made him savage. One 

 day, when M. Durut had given him a rather stronger dose 

 than common, he said to Peter, "When M. Durut comes 

 again, I will not be at home." 



The next day M. Durut perceived Arnold through the 

 window, and came and rang at his bell. Peter, according 

 to his master's orders, told him he was gone out. — " Gone 

 out ! gone out ! why I this moment saw him in my garden — 

 and in M. Durut went. Arnold was furious, ard could scarcely 

 restrain himself. This time he did not put himself out of 

 the way, and by means of an oratorical precaution, consisting 

 of a "Permit me," he continued to assist the gardener, although 

 the latter had six or seven journeymen round him. When 

 M. Durut was gone, Arnold said to Peter, — 



" What did I tell you! — did not I desire you not to let 

 M. Durut in?" 



" Certainly, Sir, but he saw you in the garden, and would 

 come in, in spite of me." 



" That was one reason the more why he should not have 

 persisted; he ought to understand that I wish to be alone. If 

 you let him in again, I will discharge you." 



" But then. Sir, you must not show yourself in the garden." 



Arnold then broke forth into an eloquent invective. " What 

 the deuce ! did I buy this garden of this old rogue to have no 

 free enjoyment of it? Who could have dreamt that the pro- 

 perty was subject to the intolerable nuisance of his presence? 

 The garden is mine — I have paid for it — and I wiU not pay 



