Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1853-12-18
From Dickens Household Words.
NM NURSERYMAN'S PRIZE
OR, THE FLOwER-BEILS.

THE NURSERYMAN'S PRIZE;
OR, THE FLOwERBEILs.
Soft midsummer air, CHEEKY with sunshine, and
perfumed with all the scents that it had robbed out
of his nursery garden, crept in through the month
ly roses at the porch and the hafopen cottagedoor
to make itself at home in George Sweyne's room.
1t busted itself there, sweeping and rustng about,
if it had as much right to the place, and was as
much the tenant of it, as the gardener himself 1t
had also sort of feminine and wifely claim on
| George, who, having been spending half an hour
over short letter written upon large sheet, was
invited by the midsummer air to look after his
| gentle friend to tear the paper from her hand. A
| bee had come into the room-GeOrge kept bees
and had been lowering about the letter; SO drunk,
possibly, with honey that he had mistaken it for
great lily. Certainly he did at last settle upon
it. The letter was legal document to this effect:
RWe are instructed hereby to give you notice of the
death Of Mr.. Thomas Queek of Edmonton the last Of the
three lives for which your lease was granted and to inform
you that you may obtain renewal of the the pay
men of hundred guineas 10 the Undersigned Wea
/ sir, . .--..-" ..-.
"Your (here the bee sat on the obedient servants)
| ".- --- FLINT GRINSTON.
/ Mr.. Swayne granted himself rule to consider
in his own mind what the lawyers meant by their
uncertain phraseolOgy. 1t did not mean, he con-
! cuded that MessrS. f. & O.. were willing, for one
! hundred pounds, to renew the life of Mr.. Queeks,
of Edmonton; but it did mean that he must turn
out of the house and grounds (which had been
Swayne'S nursery garden for the three generations
past,) unless he would pay large fine for the re-
newal of his lease. He was but young fellow of
| fve-and-twenty, who, until recently, had been at
work for the support of an old father and mother
His mother had been dead twelvemonth last mid
summer-day, and his father, who had been well
| while his dame was with him, sckened after she
| was gone. and died before the applegathering was
over. The cottage and The garden were more pre-
ciOus to George as home than as a place of bust
ness. There were thoughts Of partinglike thoughts
of another loss by DEATH or of all past losses again
to be suffered freshly and together so
clouded the eyes of Mr.. Swayne, that at last he
could scarcely tell when be looked at the letter,
whether the bee was or was not a portion of the
writing.
An old woman came in, with midsummer cough,
sounding as hollow an empty coffin. She was a
| poor old crone, who came to do for George small
day-for he lighted his own fires, and served up to
himself in the first style of cottage cookery his own
fat bacon and potatoes.
81 shall be out for three hours, Milly," said
George; and he put on his best clothes and went
into the sunshine Il can do nothing better" hi
thought, ethan go and see the lawyers"
They lived in the city. George lived at the cas-
end of London, in part now covered with yer,
dirty streets; but then covered with eopse and field
and by Swayne's Old-fashiOned nursery ground
then crowded with stocks and walI-howers lupins
sweet peas, pinks, lavender. heartsease boys love
old man, and other old-fashiOned plants-for it con
tained nothing so tremendous as Schizanthuses
EschOlziasi or Clarkia pulchellas, which are weed
little atomies though they sound big enough to ri
: val any tree on Lebanon. George was an Old-fasl
ioned gardner in an Old-fashioned time; for we hav
here to do with events that occurred in the mddl
of the reign of George the Third George, then
l mean George Swayne, not Georgius Rex
marched off to see the lawyers, who lived in dar
court in the city. He found their clerk in tn
b, front Office, with marigold in one of his bottor
! holes; but there was nothing else that looked k
summer in the place. 1t smelt like mouldy, shu
: up Toulouse, and there was parchment enough i
it to make scare crows for all the gardens in Ken
: Midddlesex and Surrey. '-
George saw the junior partner, Mr.. Grinsto
It who told him, when he heard his business that
was in Mr.. Fiint's department. When he WI
shown into Mr.. F'lint's room, Mr. Flint could on
a repeat, he said the instructions of the landlord
;, ."You see, my lad he said, "these holdings tn
have been let hitherto for thirty pounds per annu
are now worth fifty Yet my client, Mr.. Crote
ready to renew the lease for three more lives,
the very slight fine we have named to you. VIII
a- would you have more reasonable?" .#
1e "Sir make no complaint, George answerC
d "only want to abide by the ground, and ha
ly not so much money as you require l owe nobO
n n a penny; and to pay my way, and lay by enou
at money for next years seeds and roots has been
er most that | manage l have saved ffte
- pounds Here it is, sir: take it, if it will help
in this business"
"Well," Mr.. Flint suggested, ''what do you
to this? make no promise, but think /
y persuade Mr.. Crote to let you retain possession
your land fOr-shall we say?-two years, at
- rent of fifty pounds; and, at the expiration of t
Ee term you may perhaps be able to pay the fine,
to renew your lease
Il will accept that offer, sir" Swaynes nurs
\ would not support so high rental; but let the
81 ture take thought for itself-to postpone for
n years the doom to quit the rooftree under wh
yer his mother sucked him, was gain enough
va | =
ont George.
Ia-
de So he turned homeward, and went cheerfuIy
'ars on his way, by short cut through narrow str
lst, and lanes that bordered on the Thames. His
!. dener's eye discovered all the lonely little pots