`` Who owns the house ? '' `` Well , it 's the property of the Glen St. Mary Presbyterian Church now , and I rented it from the trustees . But it belonged until lately to a very old lady , Miss Elizabeth Russell . She died last spring , and as she had no near relatives she left her property to the Glen St. Mary Church . Her furniture is still in the house , and I bought most of it -- for a mere song you might say , because it was all so old-fashioned that the trustees despaired of selling it . Glen St. Mary folks prefer plush brocade and sideboards with mirrors and ornamentations , I fancy . But Miss Russell 's furniture is very good and I feel sure you 'll like it , Anne . '' `` So far , good , '' said Anne , nodding cautious approval . `` But , Gilbert , people can not live by furniture alone . You have n't yet mentioned one very important thing . Are there TREES about this house ? '' `` Heaps of them , oh , dryad ! There is a big grove of fir trees behind it , two rows of Lombardy poplars down the lane , and a ring of white birches around a very delightful garden . Our front door opens right into the garden , but there is another entrance -- a little gate hung between two firs . The hinges are on one trunk and the catch on the other . Their boughs form an arch overhead . '' `` Oh , I 'm so glad ! I could n't live where there were no trees -- something vital in me would starve . Well , after that , there 's no use asking you if there 's a brook anywhere near . THAT would be expecting too much . ''
`` But there IS a brook -- and it actually cuts across one corner of the XXXXX . ''
boughs folks garden hinges house lady overhead relatives something trustees