"Something very like it."
And there was a chorus of "Oh's" and "That's all very fine! but—"
"Well, you are all for it, anyhow?" I said.
"Oh, yes, we are all for it."
"Then I am going to tackle his Reverence."
"There he is, then, at the bottom of the lawn, with a slaughtered bunny in his hand, so the moment should be auspicious."
But it wasn't.
I approached my subject delicately, mindful of the overwhelming sense of impossibility with which the Visitor's suggestions had filled my soul; but when it dawned on his Reverence that I wanted not only to erect a pergola but to cut down the holly hedge, it then transpired that the holly hedge was the joy of his heart and the pride of his eyes; when other things failed, and snails ate the onions, that hedge was always there, always green, always solid, and always a consolation.
I explained my views and he explained his, and then we both explained them together; he said I was very obstinate, and I said he was not allowing me a free hand. He said he did, and I said, "Then may I do it?" He said, "Certainly not," and I said, "Very good, then, I resign the garden." I heard his laugh—a hearty one—as I marched with dignity back to the drawing-room.