The Project Gutenberg eBook, Evelina's Garden, by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

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Title: Evelina's Garden

Author: Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Release Date: March 1, 2006 [eBook #17891]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EVELINA'S GARDEN***

E-text prepared by Jeff Kaylin and Andrew Sly

EVELINA'S GARDEN

by

MARY E. WILKINS

New York and London
Harper & Brothers
MDCCCXCIX

On the south a high arbor-vitae hedge separated Evelina's garden from
the road. The hedge was so high that when the school-children lagged
by, and the secrets behind it fired them with more curiosity than
those between their battered book covers, the tallest of them by
stretching up on tiptoe could not peer over. And so they were driven
to childish engineering feats, and would set to work and pick away
sprigs of the arbor-vitae with their little fingers, and make
peep-holes--but small ones, that Evelina might not discern them. Then
they would thrust their pink faces into the hedge, and the enduring
fragrance of it would come to their nostrils like a gust of aromatic
breath from the mouth of the northern woods, and peer into Evelina's
garden as through the green tubes of vernal telescopes.

Then suddenly hollyhocks, blooming in rank and file, seemed to be
marching upon them like platoons of soldiers, with detonations of
color that dazzled their peeping eyes; and, indeed, the whole garden
seemed charging with its mass of riotous bloom upon the hedge. They
could scarcely take in details of marigold and phlox and pinks and
London-pride and cock's-combs, and prince's-feather's waving overhead
like standards.

Sometimes also there was the purple flutter of Evelina's gown; and
Evelina's face, delicately faded, hung about with softly drooping
gray curls, appeared suddenly among the flowers, like another flower
uncannily instinct with nervous melancholy.

Then the children would fall back from their peep-holes, and huddle
off together with scared giggles. They were afraid of Evelina. There
was a shade of mystery about her which stimulated their childish
fancies when they heard her discu