as not one of those gentle creatures whom,
married or single, one calls instinctively by their Christian names.
Her manner in girlhood was not exactly either "meek" or "gentle";
except towards him, the only one who ever ruled her, and to whom she
was, through life, the meekest and tenderest of women. To every one
else she comported herself, at least in youth, with a dignity and
decision--a certain stand-offishness--so that, as I said, it was not
quite easy to speak to or think of her as "Ursula." Afterwards, when
seen in the light of a new character, for which Heaven destined and
especially fitted her, and in which she appeared altogether
beautiful--I began to give her another name--but it will come by and by.

In the long midsummer days, when our house was very quiet and rather
dreary, I got into the habit of creeping over to John's home, and
sitting for hours under the apple-trees in his garden. It was now
different from the wilderness he found it; the old trees were pruned
and tended, and young ones planted. Mrs. Halifax called it proudly
"our orchard," though the top of the tallest sapling could be reached
with her hand. Then, in addition to the indigenous cabbages, came long
rows of white-blossomed peas, big-headed cauliflowers, and all
vegetables easy of cultivation. My father sent contributions from his
celebrated gooseberry-bushes, and his wall-fruit, the pride of Norton
Bury; Mrs. Jessop stocked the borders from her great parterres of
sweet-scented common flowers; so that, walled in as it was, and in the
midst of a town likewise, it was growing into a very tolerable garden.
Just the kind of garden that I love--half trim, half wild--fruits,
flowers, and vegetables living in comfortable equality and fraternity,
none being too choice to be harmed by their neighbours, none esteemed
too mean to be restricted in their natural profusion. Oh, dear
old-fashioned garden! full of sweet-Williams and white-Nancies, and
larkspur and London-pride, and yard-wide beds of snowy saxifrage, and
tall, pale evening primroses, and hollyhocks six or seven feet high,
many-tinted, from yellow to darkest ruby-colour; while for scents,
large blushing cabbage-roses, pinks, gilly-flowers, with here and there
a great bush of southern-wood or rosemary, or a border of thyme, or a
sweet-briar hedge--a pleasant garden, where all colours and perfumes
were blended together; ay, even a stray dandelion, that stood boldly up
in his yellow waist