to me how much can be had from a space so little with due care and proper management. I have an old fashioned friend who considers that one great point in his character, as an able gardener, is that he can make boast that he never has a waste foot of ground about him. His illustration is always drawn from the same story, to the effect that if he finds a bare inch he sticks in a scarlet runner. This, I am free to admit, always strikes me as economy gone mad, as it would obviously give his garden the appearance of its having been given over to the hands of some elfin engineers who had stuck up here and there in their whimsical way tiny telegraph poles to carry gossamer wires wrought in the spider factory, and which certainly would not add to the decorative attractiveness of the little garden. But there is a middle course, and whilst we may, perhaps with advantage, have here and there a foot of fallow or a yard or two clear of vegetation at one period or other, still it would be found of advantage to have practically every inch of space filled and the garden always full. Well, we have, I trust, imbibed the spirit that will fit us for the work we shall consider from a more practical point of view in our next issue. Meantime rub the rust off your shovel by digging over the ground and putting all trim for seed beds and flower borders, and we will look round together and see what must next be done. By J. ROGERS REES, author of The Brotherhood of Letters, etc. THEY say that in these days only one dragon roams about in the immense caverns which lie under the sea around Pembrokeshire. In the olden times there were two; and these, after growling and spitting at each other for years, awoke one morning resolved to do battle to the death. They had come to the conclusion that the sea was altogether too small to contain two monarchs; and as each was perfectly certain of conquering the other, they began their struggle in a thoroughly determined spirit. Such was the force of the mighty conflict, as they tore from cavern to cavern snarling and clawing at one another, that at every movement the waters rose and poured in upon the land, sweeping before them whole stretches of rock and sand and mud. Very soon the greater portion of Coedraeth forest, which before had reached from Amroth to Tenby, was submerged, whilst Milford Haven entirely lost its original semblance. The quantities of mud poured into the harbour completely frightened the watersprites, who dwelt there, as well as the elves and dwarfs who lived on its banks; so, setting aside all petty family differences, they met together to devise means for the protection of themselves and their homes. Skomar Oddy, No head, all body, His head was so had notions of his own. But the elves and the dwarfs and the maidens of the sea wanted help, and Skomar must be roused. Accordingly the meeting broke up, and seven and seventy and seven hundred of the small folk scrambled hither and thither in search of steeds to carry them to Precelly. And a motley procession they soon made, mounted on bats, moths, beetles, and birds, each SKOMAR ODDY. bearing a briar-thorn, the use of which was soon to appear. At length they arrived at Precelly, into the very heart of which they got without trouble; for the mighty snoring of the giant, that had long caused the mountain to vibrate, had recently done more definite work in making great gaping fissures through which the fairies now scrambled on their mission. Swarming about the great hulking sleeper the tiny visitors set to pricking him with their thorns until his whole body was red and bleeding Twice Skomar turned in his sleep, and swept his hand over his body, growling out," Drat the gnats." The third time he sat bolt upright, and though he had been sleeping for nigh eighty years, he grumbled lustily, as he rubbed his eyes with his fists, at being disturbed just when his night's rest was beginning. But he listened carefully to the story told him, and then, without speaking a word, rose to his feet, thrust aside a great piece of the mountain, and stepped out into the light of the stars. He soon made for himself a rope, by twisting young pine trees together; and with this he slung bis cauldron over his shoulder, and stalked away, followed by the hurrying-scurrying multitude of small beings. With a few strides he reached the mouth of Milford Haven. Resting one foot near St. Ann's Head he flung the other over on dry land close to Sheep Island. Striding thus across the harbour, he stooped down and thrust a finger into the water to ascertain the extent of the mud's encroachment. Turning up his nose in disgust at what had happened during his sleep, he stepped up to where Neyland now lies, set his back to the west, threw his right foot on to the jutting land opposite, unslung his cauldron, and commenced his work. Clutching his huge kettle by the handle, he made a dredger of it; and so scraping up the mud as he went along, he walked backwards, one foot on each side of the haven until he reached its mouth. Here he lifted his cauldron and threw its muddy contents over his shoulder far out into the sea. Thus, once in each twenty four hours, at midnight, did the giant Skomar clean out Milford Haven; and when at length one 77 dragon slew the other and the fury of the encroaching sea subsided, he quietly stalked back to his Precelly cavern and went to sleep. But by reason of the break in his previous rest he now snores in peace till ten centuries shall have passed. By one boatman, Skomar's mud-dredging was remembered for a long while. This man was out in his skiff at midnight, near Milford, when a sudden furious rush of water surprised him, and before he could at all realize his position he was being swept along in the huge cauldron, But what crowned his night's experience was the journey through the air, when the giant shot the contents of his dredger over his shoulder out into the Atlantic. The man, however, chanced to be an admirable swimmer, and, favoured by a fine night, he found his boat and made for the nearest land, which proved to be one of the islands fringing St. Bride's Bay. Knowing the value of a silent tongue in the matter of such strange adventures, he feigned ignorance where it suited him, and to the many questions put by the dwellers on the island, he made answer only in the simple word "Skomar." Where do you come from?" asked one. "Skomar," was his reply. "And why do you come here?" enquired another. Skomar," answered the boatman. "Do you know where you are?" asked a third. "Skomar," was again the reply. And so the good people, thinking him a stranger, permitted him to go in peace on the morrow. But the name he had unwittingly given their home seemed a good one, and for a while they called it such in sheer mischief. Then it grew familiar to them, and at length the island became equally well known as Scalmey or Skomar. When the boatman got home, he related his tale to wondering intimates, who in turn told it to their children and to their children's children. And so it grew to be the saying, when one was lost in the waters about the stormy coast, that had got him. Skomar Oddy, XII. THE CUCKOO. S homeward I was straying, As I heard the cuckoo sing, Who fresh from o'er the ocean Had come to greet the spring. All through the living green wood As the first that ever sang. I turned to seek the cuckoo I sought till I had wandered A thousand thanks, dear cuckoo, I dried my tearful lashes. And the cuckoo flew away. I sat beneath the birch tree once again, And struck the tuneful chords of "Mentra Gwen,' Love's chains were soon around me, The melody had bound me, Thine image fair had found me, Menna Wen,† A birch wreath will I send thee once again, Should fade away to-morrow, My hope will not be shaken, Menna Wen, See'st thou the green leaves failing, Menna Wen? After the storm remaining, Menna Wen, One, two, three, four, five, six," Oh, soft sea breeze that blows around, Cast thy doubts and fears away, Into yon hoary castle walls, And thus, sweet bells, ye'd still ring on Ever your mystic tones will chime XV. Oft have I sung old Cambria's lays But now I sing a sweeter song For ere the spring had passed away, And on her hand I placed the ring, As we stood side by side. And when another spring time came, And underneath the hawthorn bush WE E were late in going to rest one evening, so attractive was the scenery along our winding track amongst the numerous islands that skirt the Norway coast. And we dreamed of the vast snow-fields beyond. We were up at six the next morning, and found that we had anchored at Odde an hour previously. Upon going on deck a charming view presented itself to us; and we were agreeably surprised to find that we were in very good company, for close to our ship were the Emperor and Empress of Germany, on board their magnificent yacht the "Hohenzollern," a man of war of four thousand tons, with ram and guns. The little village, which consists of about thirty houses with two good hotels, was quite gay with bunting, and so also were the steamers, in honour of the royal visitors. The glistening hull of the ship was nearly as white as the snow on the surrounding mountains. All the houses at Odde are made of timber; the church spire, which rises above the houses, is built of wood and painted white. It was a busy morning at Odde, for, to provide conveyances for some three hundred people was no simple matter for such a small village. However, they were able to supply all that was wanted, and we were soon driving up the Jordal Valley for a distance of twelve miles. There was quite a long procession of the quaint carrioles and other carriages of the country. The first great cascade we came to was the one descending from a great height to lake Sandvendsvand. The Emperor and party and many of our friends crossed the lake and went up to the Buorbrae Glacier. It is an arm of the great Folgefond, which is a vast field of snow extending some scores of miles in length, and stretching its arm down the valley. The Emperor and Empress, it is said, were enjoying and disporting themselves like ordinary mortals. A little further on we came in sight of another fall tumbling from a great height and spreading out from the middle, which gives to it a very pretty appearance. |