trawberry beds. Then the gooseberries with which the old bushes
were laden; the currants, red, black, and white; the raspberries, had
surely their match nowhere else on this earth.

The walled-in garden contained quite five acres of ground, and was
divided itself into three portions. In the middle was the flower
garden proper. Here there was a long, straight walk which led to an
arbor at the bottom. The children were particularly fond of this
arbor, for their father had made it for them with his own hands, and
their mother had watched its growth. Mrs. Delaney was very delicate at
the time, and as she looked on and saw the pretty arbor growing into
shape, she used to lean on Iris' arm and talk to her now and then in
her soft, low voice about the flowers and the animals, and the happy
life which the little people were leading. At these moments a look
would often come into her mother's gentle eyes which caused Iris'
heart to beat fast, and made her tighten her clasp on the slender arm.
Then, when the arbor was quite finished, Mr. Delaney put little seats
into it, a rustic chair for each child, which he or she could take in
or out at pleasure. The chairs were carved in commemoration of each
child's name. Iris had the deep purple flowers which go by that name
twined round and round the back of hers. Apollo's chair was made
memorable with his well-known lyre and bow, and these words were
carved round it: "The golden lyre shall be my friend, the bent bow my
delight, and in oracles will I foretell the dark future."

Diana's chair had a bow and quiver engraved on the back, while little
Orion's represented a giant with a girdle and a sword. The children
were very proud of their chairs, and often talked of them to one
another, and Iris, who was the story-teller of the party, was never
tired of telling the stories of the great originals after whom she and
her brothers and sister were named.

Down the straight path which led to the pretty arbor were Scotch
roses, red and white. The smell of these roses in the summer was quite
enough to ravish you. Iris in particular used to sniff at them and
sniff at them until she felt nearly intoxicated with delight.

The central garden, which was mostly devoted to flowers, led through
little, old-fashioned, somewhat narrow postern doors into the fruit
gardens on either side. In these were the gooseberries. Here were to
be found the great beds of strawberries; here, by-and-by, ripened the
plum