They are, if in a nautical town one may be permitted to speak breezily, my sheet anchor." He indicated a grotto at the end of the walk.

"Maria and me did the whole of that." "Mrs.Basket is fond of gardening ?" hazarded the Major.
"She's extraordinary partial to oysters," Mr.Basket corrected him.
"We made it a principle from the first to use nothing but what we consumed in the house.

That don't apply to the statuary, of course, which I have purchased at one time and another from an Italian dealer who frequents the Hoe.

The material is less durable than one might wish; but I could not afford marble.

The originals of these objects, so the dealer informs me, are sold for very considerable sums of money; in addition to which," went on Mr.Basket, lucidly, "he carries them in a tray on his head, which, in the case of marble, would be out of the question; and, as it is, how he contrives to keep 'em balanced passes my understanding.