MANASSEH 369
"Come along !" I agreed, and we walked on together.
A few more blocks and Manasseh led me into a narrow street, not yet entirely built in with houses.
Presently he stopped, with a contented smile. I looked round in some astonishment. We were standing alongside a piece of waste ground, with a meagre fencing of stones and burnt wire, and utilized as a garden.
"Just look," said the workman, pointing at the garden, "how delightful it is! One so seldom sees anything of the kind in New York."
Manasseh went nearer to the fence, and his eyes wandered thirstily over the green, flowering plants, just then in full beauty. I also looked at the garden. The things that grew there were unknown to me, and I was ignorant of their names. Only one thing had a familiar look a few tall, graceful "moons" were scattered here and there over the place, and stood like absent-minded dreamers, or beautiful sentinels. And the roses were in bloom, and their fragrance came in wafts over the fencing.
"You see the 'moons'?" asked Manasseh, in rapt tones, but more to himself than to me. "Look how beau- tiful they are! I can't take my eyes off them. I am capable of standing and looking at them for hours. They make me feel happy, almost as if I were at home again. There were a lot of them at home !"
The operative sighed, lost himself a moment in thought, and then said:
"When I smell the roses, I think of old days. We had quite a large garden, and I was so fond of it!
