The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-27

them, that all opposition had to give
way, even in the stubborn William
IL thought you had a dread of dogs
was the final remark with which he
endeaVored to turn me aside from my
purpose. Il have three in the barn
and two in the stable, and they make
a great fuss when [ come around, l
assure YOU
Then they will have enough to do
without noticing me- said /, with a
brazen assumption of courage that
would have astOnished myself if had
had any real intention of invading a
place SO guarded. But 1 had not 1 TO
more meant to enter the stables than
to jump off the house top, but it was
necessary that | should start for them
and make that start from the left wing
of the house.
How l managed the intractabIe Will
liam and led him as l did from bush
to bush and shrub to shrub, up and
down the length of that intermnable
facade of the left wing, would make
an interesting story in itself. The curl
osity L showed in plants, even such
plants as ls~d survived the neglect
that had made a wilderness of this old
time garden; the indifference which.
contrary to all my habits, I persisted
in manifesting to every Inconvenience
l encountered in the way of straight
forward walking to any object L set
my fancy upon examining; the knoWI-
edge L exhibited and the interest
which [ took it for granted he felt in
all l discovered and all impaired to
him would form the basis of a farce
of no ordinary merit had it not had
its birth in interests and intents Dor
Gering on the tragic, if not leading
slowly up to it.
A row of bushes of various species
ran along the wall and covered in
some instances the lower lodges of the
first row of windows. Toward a GER
tain shrub which l had observed grow
ing near what 1 supposed to be the
easement from whose blind / had chip
ped small silver L was slowly moving.
and When I reached it nothing would
restrain my enthusiasm OR my evident
desire to display my erudition.
This said I, lis, without any
doubt at ALL stunted but undoubted
specimen of that rare tree found sell
dom north of the thirtieth degree, the
Magnolia grandifiora. [ have never
seen it but once before, and that was
in the botanical gardens in Washing
ton. Note its leaves. You have noted
its flowers. smaller undoubtedly than
they should be-but then you must &C
knowledge it has been in a measure
neglected-are they not fine?'
Here 1 pulled a branch down which
interferred with my view of the WIN
dow. There was no chip out of the
blinds thus discovered. Seeing this. /
let the branch go. But the oldest
feature of this tree and one with which
you are perhaps not acquainted G
wonder if anybody is0 sis that it will
not grow within twenty feet of any
plant which scatters. pollen See for
yourself. This next shrub bears no
flower" q was moving along the walD
nor this ] drew down a branch as
l spoke, caught sight of the mark 1 was
looking for and let the branch spring
back. I had found the window l want
ed.
His grunts and groans during all this
formed a running accompaniment
which would have afforded me great
secret amusement had my purpose been
less serious. AS it was, l could pay
but little attention to him, especially
after l had stepped back far enough to
take glance at the window over the
one l had just located as that of the
flower parlor. 1t was, as I expected
the third one from the rear corner, but
it was not this fact which gave me a
thrill of feeling so strong that I have
never had harder work to preserve my
equanimity 1t was the knot of black
Grape with which the shutters were
tied together.