FullReads

When I had heard the letter, I thought so, too.

“TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAIESTIE–

“My dear Mother,–This is to tell you that we have made you Queen of the Blue Robe, and that your son Christopher is a dwarf, and we think you’ll both be very much pleased when you hear it. He can do as he likes about having a hump back. When you come home we shall give faire flowers into your Highnesse hands–that is if you’ll do what I’m going to ask you, for nobody can grow flowers out of nothing. I want you to write to John–write straight to him, don’t put it in your letter to Father–and tell him that you have given us leave to have some of the seedlings out of the frames, and that he’s to dig us up a good big clump of daffodils out of the shrubbery–and we’ll divide them fairly, for Harry is the Honestest Root-gatherer that ever came over to us. We have turned the whole of our gardens into a Paradisi in sole Paradisus terrestris, if you can construe that; but we must have something to make a start. He’s got no end of bedding things over–that are doing nothing in the Kitchen Garden and might just as well be in our Earthly Paradise. And please tell him to keep us a tiny pinch of seed at the bottom of every paper when he is sowing the annuals. A little goes a long way, particularly of poppies. And you might give him a hint to let us have a flower-pot or two now and then (I’m sure he takes ours if he finds any of our dead window plants lying about), and that he needn’t be so mighty mean about the good earth in the potting shed, or the labels either, they’re dirt cheap. Mind you write straight. If only you let John know that the gardens don’t entirely belong to him, you’ll see that what’s spare from the big garden would more than set us going; and it shall further encourage him to accomplish the remainder, who in praying that your Highnesse may enjoy the heavenly Paradise after the many years fruition of this earthly,

“Submitteth to be, Your Maiestie’s, in all humble devotion,

JOHN PARKINSON,

“King’s Apothecary and Herbalist.

“P. S.–It was Mary’s idea.”

“My dear Arthur!” said I.

“Well, I know it’s not very well mixed,” said Arthur. “Not half so well as I intended at first. I meant to write it all in the Parkinson style. But then, I thought, if I put the part about John in queer language and old spelling, she mightn’t understand what we want. But every word of the end comes out of the Dedication; I copied it the other day, and I think she’ll find it a puzzlewig when she comes to it.”

After which Arthur folded his paper and put it into an envelope which he licked copiously, and closed the letter with a great deal of display. But then his industry coming to an abrupt end, as it often did, he tossed it to me saying, “You can address it, Mary;” so I enclosed it in my own letter to thank Mother for the book, and I fancy she did write to our gardener, for he gave us a good lot of things, and was much more good-natured than usual.

After Arthur had tossed his letter to me, he clasped his hands over his head and walked up and down thinking. I thought he was calculating what he should be able to get out of John, for when you are planning about a garden, you seem to have to do so much calculating. Suddenly he stopped in front of me and threw down his arms. “Mary,” he said, “if Mother were at home, she would despise us for selfishness, wouldn’t she just?”

“I don’t think it’s selfish to want spare things for our gardens, if she gives us leave,” said I.