: or it didn't--when the
failures of Nature were not infrequently ascribed to us. They never set
foot within fir-wood or hazel-copse, nor dreamt of the marvels hid
therein. The mysterious sources, sources as of old Nile, that fed the
duck-pond had no magic for them. They were unaware of Indians, nor
recked they anything of bisons or of pirates (with pistols!), though the
whole place swarmed with such portents. They cared not to explore for
robbers' caves, nor dig for hidden treasure. Perhaps, indeed, it was one
of their best qualities that they spent the greater part of their time
stuffily indoors.

[Illustration: '_For them the orchard (a place elf-haunted, wonderful!)
simply_']

To be sure there was an exception in the curate, who would receive,
unblenching, the information that the meadow beyond the orchard was a
prairie studded with herds of buffalo, which it was our delight,
moccasined and tomahawked, to ride down with those whoops that announce
the scenting of blood. He neither laughed nor sneered, as the Olympians
would have done; but, possessed of a serious idiosyncrasy, he would
contribute such lots of valuable suggestion as to the pursuit of this
particular sort of big game that, as it seemed to us, his mature age and
eminent position could scarce have been attained without a practical
knowledge of the creature in its native lair. Then, too, he was always
ready to constitute himself a hostile army or a band of marauding
Indians on the shortest possible notice: in brief, a distinctly able
man, with talents, so far as we could judge, immensely above the
majority. I trust he is a bishop by this time. He had all the necessary
qualifications, as we knew.

These strange folk had visitors sometimes--stiff and colourless
Olympians like themselves, equally without vital interests and
intelligent pursuits: emerging out of the clouds, and passing away again
to drag on an aimless existence somewhere beyond our ken. Then
brute force was pitilessly applied. We were captured, washed, and forced
into clean collars: silently submitting as was our wont, with more
contempt than anger. Anon, with unctuous hair and faces stiffened in a
conventional grin, we sat and listened to the usual platitudes. How
could reasonable people spend their precious time so? That was ever our
wonder as we bounded forth at last: to the old clay-pit to make pots, or
to hunt bears among the hazels.

It was perennial matter for amazement how these O