The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-11-04

The happy bridegroom name
Answers.
LANDLADY'S GARDEN
1t would be all very well but for the
garden.
Not that I object to grass plots and
flower beds, and these have charm
Of their own. from the old-fashioned
roses and shrubs which abound, and a
noticeable absence Of American beau
ties and other up-to-date flowers, so to
SPEAK
When l interviewed my landladys
robust, and by no means dull house
keeper. and, tempted by the handsome
appointments of the rooms, told her I
would take the lower floor if there
were no children around. I should have
stipulated that the garden should re-
main under my supervision and care,
and be regarded as my temporary
property.
Knowing that Miss Aurore d'Auril-
lac was a lady Of a certain age (Which
usually means fifty I should have had
sense enough to provide for eventuall-
ties. But, no. was so charmed with
the space and size of the rooms. the
great circular hall and magnificent
stairway, the ancient rosewood furni-
ture, and the taste so lavishly dis
played by Fortune d'Aurillac, the an
cestor of my landlady (the housekeep-
er told me all about him) in his selec-
tions Of paintings and bibelots, that
the matter Of a garden slipped from
my mind.
Evidently the present Miss d'Auril-
lac, who really ought to drop "Aurore"
from her name. for the flush and
splendor of early dawn, which 1t re-
calls are too severe contrast to
wrinkles and gray hair, and middle age
follows the traditions Of ''autrefois." I"
and will not condescend to discuss
such trivial matters as the rent of her
beautiful rooms with a parvenu stran-
ger.
have no doubt I am in her mind a
pork packer from the far West, or an
unscrupulous Wall Street jobber,
whose ill-gotten gains she looks down
on with contempt, accepting the month.
ly payments for the privilege of enjoy
Ing these luxurious. ancient and some
what faded, but beautiful surround
tngs, with a scornful resignation.
It was my friend Jules Berritt who
suggested the negotiations which final
ly ended by my driving down here and
taking possession for an indefinite per-
iod, and until urged by some vagrant
impulse to pitch my tent elsewhere,
probably abroad. of this splendid old
residence. whose chambers still seem
to resound with faint sounds of revelry
and laughter.
It stands sedate and exclusive, sur
rounded by its high garden wall two
blocks away-thank God-from the
horrors of the everlasting electric cars,
as run today, with changing bell. and
the Internal rumble of a fast express,
the boon Of the present exasperating
civilization.
A group Of magnolia trees throw a
pleasant shade and serve as a. screen
against the intrusion Of the afternoon
sun.
Pink and purple hydrangea bushes
bloom on either side Of broad stone
steps leading down into the garden.
The scent of magnolia fuscata bios
SONS and lilacs de France mingling
with clambering tea roses is a per.
petual invitation to sit on the high
columned porch and indulge in the alb
surdity of believing that life is idyllic,
that its restfu1 moods mean content
ment and peace, almost joy. and that
old things-memories among them
may be put away. hidden and forgotten
so that the afternoon quiet Of life be
not disturbed by the memory Of fool
ish burning passions Of earlier days.
For this reason and to preserve an
Illusion which at best can only be OF
short duration, should have insisted
on the right Of solitary proprietorship
of this beautiful old garden to the ex-
clusion Of everyone else.
have been in possession only few
days, and I am haunted by the antici-
patton Of seeing my elderly landlady
go pottering around among the sweet
tangle of bushes and vines with a
basket and scissors And, who knows
I may even be dragged into polite
converse ton, the first Of long series
of othsrs to follow.
am neither censorious nor skeptt-
cal but every man who has reached the
age Of forty has accumulated consider
able experience of men and women, OF
should have done so.
1 have quite enough knowledge of
the world to realize in all humility
that whatever small attention I may
attract is strictly owing to the worldly
goods I happen to be possessed Of, in
rather an unusual allowance. And
am quite aware that my individuality
is altogether a secondary matter.
An hour or two at the club, few Of
the many invitations showered upon
me Tor rather on my bank account &C.
cepted, and resignedly gone through
with. my correspondence dispatched
and business cares laid aside, are the
monotonous accidents of my everyday
life which make my return to the rest
full quiet Of Fortune d'Aurillac's splen-
did old mansion all the more fascinat-
ing.
The silent gliding Of the white sail
nnn IHHD TDl1ST