because of the thrill. When I hit on a name that suits exactly it gives
me a thrill. Do things ever give you a thrill?
Matthew ruminated.
Well now, yes. It always kind of gives me a thrill to see them ugly
white grubs that spade up in the cucumber beds. I hate the look of
them.
Oh, I don t think that can be exactly the same kind of a thrill. Do you
think it can? There doesn t seem to be much connection between grubs
and lakes of shining waters, does there? But why do other people call it
Barry s pond?
I reckon because Mr. Barry lives up there in that house. Orchard
Slope s the name of his place. If it wasn t for that big bush behind it
you could see Green Gables from here. But we have to go over the bridge
and round by the road, so it s near half a mile further.
Has Mr. Barry any little girls? Well, not so very little either--about
my size.
He s got one about eleven. Her name is Diana.
Oh! with a long indrawing of breath. What a perfectly lovely name!
Well now, I dunno. There s something dreadful heathenish about it,
seems to me. I d ruther Jane or Mary or some sensible name like that.
But when Diana was born there was a schoolmaster boarding there and they
gave him the naming of her and he called her Diana.
I wish there had been a schoolmaster like that around when I was born,
then. Oh, here we are at the bridge. I m going to shut my eyes tight.
I m always afraid going over bridges. I can t help imagining that
perhaps, just as we get to the middle, they ll crumple up like a
jack-knife and nip us. So I shut my eyes. But I always have to open them
for all when I think we re getting near the middle. Because, you see, if
the bridge _did_ crumple up I d want to _see_ it crumple. What a jolly
rumble it makes! I always like the rumble part of it. Isn t it splendid
there are so many things to like in this world? There, we re over. Now
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