The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1854-01-06
From Dickens Household Words.
THE NURSERYMAN,s PRIZE; OR THE
FLOWER BELLS.

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 monthly roses at the porch and
the half-open cottage door, to make itself at
home in George Swayne's room. 1t busted
itself there sweeping and rustling about, as
if it had as much right to the place. g. was as
much the tenant of it, as the gardener him
self 1t had also a sort of feminine and
wlely claim on George, who, having been
spending half an hour over a short letter.
written upon large sheet, was invited by
the midsummer air to look after his garden.
The best efforts were being made by his
gentle friend to tear the paper from his hand.
A bee had come into the room-George kept
bees-and had been lowering about the letter.
50 drunk, possibly, with honey, that he had
mistaken it for great lilly. Certainly he
did at last settle upon it. The lilly was a
legal document to this effect:
"SIR: We are instructed hereby to give
you notice of the death of Mr.. Thomas
Queeks, 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 same on pay ment Of one hundred guineas
to the undersigned.
ave are sir, your (here the bee sat on the
obedient servants,
FLINT g. GRINSTON."
Mr.. Swayne granted himself rule to con-
slider in his own mind what the lawyers meant
by their uncertain phraseology. 1t did not
mean, he concluded, that Messrs. F. g. G.
were willing, for one hundred pounds, to re-
new 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 three generations past,)
unless he would pay large fine for the ie-
newal of his lease. He was but young
fellow of five-and-twenty, who, until recent
| ly, had been at work for the support Of an
old father and mother. His mother had been
dead twelve. month last midsummerday, g.
his father, who had been well while his dame
was with him, sickened after she was gone
and died before the apple-gathering was
over. The cottage and the garden were more
precious to George as home than as place
of business. There were thoughts of part
ing-like thoughts of another loss by death
or Of all past losses again to be suffered
freshly and together-which SO clouded the
eyes of Mr.. Swayne, that at last he coult
scarcely tell when he looked at the letter
whether the bee was or was not portion o
the writing.
An old woman came in with midsumme
cough, sounding as hollow as an empty coffin
She was poor old crone, who came to dt
Tor George small services as domestic fo
an hour or two every day; for he lighted hi
own fires, and served up to himself in III
first style of cottage cookery his own fat baco
and potatoes.
81 shall be out for three hours, Milly," sal
George, and he put on his bes, clothes an
went into the sunshine. 81 can do nothin
better" he thought, "than 20 and see tn
lawyers"
They lived in the city. George lived /
III the east end Of London, in part nos cove
ed with very dirty streets, but then c9vere
E. with copsc and field, and by S@aync's ol'
fashioned nursery ground then crowded vii
stocks and wall.howers, lupins, sweet pea
pinks, lavender, heart's.ease, boys love, o
man, aud other old-fashioned plants; for
contained nothing SO tremendous as Sch za
ID. thuses, Escholzias, or Clarka pulchela
which are weedy little atomies, though th'
~ "' sound big enough to rival any tree on Leba
on. George was an old-lashioned gardent
in an old-iashioned time; for we have he
to do with events that occurred in the mdd
of the reign of George the Third. Georg
then--I mean George Swayne, not Georgi
Rex-marched off TO see the lawyers, WI
lived in dark court in the city. He fou
their clerk in the front Office, with marigt
%. in one OF his button-holes; but there "
nothing else that looked like summer in
place. 1t smelt like mouldy, shut-uP to-
house, and there was patchment enough in
to make scarecrows FOR all the gardens
Kent, Middlesex, and Surry.
George saw the junior partner, Mr. Grins'
who told him, when he heard his busine
tha, il was in Mr.. Flint's department. WI
he was shown into Mr.. Flints room.
, Flint could only repeat, he said, the instr
tons Of the landlord. -
rsYcu see, my lad" he ssid, these hoSir