No , it 's because it has a kind of motherly perfume -- not too young , you understand -- something kind of seasoned and wholesome and dependable -- jest like a mother . The schoolmaster 's bride always kept it among her handkerchiefs . You might put that little bunch among yours , Mistress Blythe . I do n't like these boughten scents -- but a whiff of sweet-grass belongs anywhere a lady does . '' Anne had not been especially enthusiastic over the idea of surrounding her flower beds with quahog shells ; as a decoration they did not appeal to her on first thought . But she would not have hurt Captain Jim 's feelings for anything ; so she assumed a virtue she did not at first feel , and thanked him heartily . And when Captain Jim had proudly encircled every bed with a rim of the big , milk-white shells , Anne found to her surprise that she liked the effect . On a town lawn , or even up at the Glen , they would not have been in keeping , but here , in the old-fashioned , sea-bound garden of the little house of dreams , they BELONGED . `` They DO look nice , '' she said sincerely . `` The schoolmaster 's bride always had cowhawks round her beds , '' said Captain Jim . `` She was a master hand with flowers . She LOOKED at 'em -- and touched 'em -- SO -- and they grew like mad . Some folks have that knack -- I reckon you have it , too , Mistress Blythe . '' `` Oh , I do n't know -- but I love my garden , and I love working in it . To potter with green , growing things , watching each day to see the dear , new sprouts come up , is like taking a hand in creation , I think . Just now my garden is like faith -- the substance of things hoped for . But bide a wee . '' `` It always amazes me to look at the little , wrinkled brown seeds and think of the rainbows in 'em , '' said Captain Jim . `` When I ponder on them seeds I do n't find it nowise hard to believe that we 've got souls that 'll live in other worlds . You could n't hardly believe there was life in them tiny things , some no bigger than grains of dust , let alone color and scent , if you had n't seen the miracle , could you ? ''
XXXXX , who was counting her days like silver beads on a rosary , could not now take the long walk to the lighthouse or up the Glen road .
Anne Blythe Glen cowhawks day first quahog rainbows scents sweet-grass