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 and there are lectures you can go to, and prize roses. We should learn a lot."

"Next summer? Well, we'll see," he said. "Meanwhile don't overdo it—all this gardening." They skirted the flower-bed and went to lean up against the fence, resting their elbows on the top. She was half an inch taller than he, and her high heels gave her a further advantage. A little wind blew in their faces as they looked out towards the fading distance. The fields were dotted here and there with clumps of elm; with here and there a farmhouse roof, the long roofs and gleaming windows of a factory.

"This open country stretches for such miles," she said dreamily. "Sometimes, on these quiet misty days, I begin to think the sea's over there, and that if the clouds along the distance lifted I should see it suddenly, shining. And, with this wind, I could be sure I smell and hear it."

"Yes, I know. One often gets that feeling."

"Do you?"

"Well, no," he said confusedly, "but I'm sure one does. I can imagine it." Someone