She had caught more of the shower of rice than I had , and as the day was hot and sunny she had tied over her head , atop of that festal silk dress , a huge , home-made , untrimmed straw hat . But she did not look ridiculous . There was a certain dignity about Aunt Philippa in any costume and under any circumstance . `` Aunt Philippa , '' I said , `` tell me this : why have you helped me to be married ? '' The train began to move . `` I refused once to run away myself , and I 've repented it ever since . '' Then , as the train gathered speed and the distance between us widened , she shouted after us , `` But I s ` pose if I had run away I 'd have repented of that too . '' Bessie 's Doll Tommy Puffer , sauntering up the street , stopped to look at Miss Octavia 's geraniums . Tommy never could help stopping to look at Miss Octavia 's flowers , much as he hated Miss Octavia . Today they were certainly worth looking at . Miss Octavia had set them all out on her verandah -- rows upon rows of them , overflowing down the steps in waves of blossom and colour . Miss Octavia 's geraniums were famous in Arundel , and she was very proud of them . But it was her garden which was really the delight of her heart . Miss Octavia always had the prettiest garden in Arundel , especially as far as annuals were concerned . Just now it was like faith -- the substance of things hoped for . The poppies and nasturtiums and balsams and morning glories and sweet peas had been sown in the brown beds on the lawn , but they had not yet begun to come up . Tommy was still feasting his eyes on the geraniums when Miss Octavia herself came around the corner of the house . Her face darkened the minute she saw Tommy . Most people 's did . Tommy had the reputation of being a very bad , mischievous boy ; he was certainly very poor and ragged , and Miss Octavia disapproved of poverty and rags on principle .
Nobody , she argued , not even a boy of twelve , need be poor and ragged XXXXX he is willing to work .
around as at between if in like of on since