or
substance, in flower and fruit, the glorious harvest of radiant summer
days.

IV

_Then came Bella--and Gibbs_

We had other entertainments. I have not thus far mentioned the domestic
service that followed Lazarus. There was a hiatus of brief duration, and
then came Bella--Bella and Gibbs. Bella was from town and of literary
association. We inherited her from authors whose ideals perhaps did not
accord with hers--I do not know. At all events, she tried ours for a
period. I know that she was considerably middle-aged, hard of hearing,
and short of sight, and that when I tried to recall her name I could not
think of anything but "Hunka-munka." Heaven knows why--it must have
expressed her, I suppose.

But Hunka-munka--Bella, I mean--had resources. Her specialties were
Kipling and deep-dish apple pie. We could have worried along without
Kipling, but her deep-dish pie with whipped cream on it was a poem that
won our hearts. I must be fair. Hunka-munka's cooking was all good, as
to taste, and if her vision had been a bit more extended it might have
been of better appearance. I suppose the steam collected on her
super-thick glasses and she had to work somewhat by guess. Never mind--I
still recall her substantial and savory dinners with deep gratitude,
especially the pie of the deep dish with whipped cream atop.

[Illustration]

Gibbs came when we acquired Lord Beaconsfield and the furnace. My gifts
do not run to the care of a horse and an egg-coal fire. I don t know
where Gibbs had matriculated, but he professed to have taken high
degrees in those functions, and thus became a part of our establishment.
I think he overestimated his powers in the directions named, but he was
not without talents. He could wash and wipe dishes and, incredible as
it may seem, he was also literary. Like attracts like, by some law past
understanding. To me it still seems a wonderful thing that this little
waif of a man with a taste for Tolstoy and a passion for long words
should have just then landed upon us.

Gibbs had a warm and fairly snug room in the barn--"a veritable bijou of
an apartment," he called it, though it was, I think, something less, and
he declared that the aroma of the hay and the near presence of Lord
Beaconsfield gave him a "truly bucolic emotion" that was an inspiration.
Nevertheless, Gibbs could not resist Bella and her domain. This was
proper enough. He was convenient to hand her things, to help with the
dishes a