The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-04-19
The Lost Dahlia.

lOOkllB the NllldBe. It's lllSlIeSci MIS-.
Gen. Harmon, was very angry; and the
gardener was in disgrace, threatened
with dismissal; and all the servants and
all the family were more or less uncom-
Portable through the veXed temper OF
madame. And yet the cause of it all
was very slight thing in itself-merely
the loss of a fiOwer-root-a dahlia.
But then Mrs. Harmon would have
told you, what she had already repeated
hundred times, that this dahlia was a
very unique and consequently precious
species; that she had purchased il in
France, at a high price, one OF two
plants which an old, disabled soldier,
with a taste for flowers, had, he said,
succeeded in producing by means of sew
eral successive years of careful culture
and experiment; and, above all, she had
been certain of this dahlia taking the
prize offered at the approaching great
horticultural fair, for the finest and rar-
est specimen of flowers. Several other
valuable ones she had, but this particu-
lar ia-"Pimperatrice," as the old
Frenchman had called il in honor of "la
belle Eugenie'-this dahlia was to be
the crowning glory of all. Never before
had been a dahlia of such size, of
such perfect formation, and of hue so
gOrgeously unique-a vivid tinge be-
tween richest carmine and most glowing
crimson, tipped at the edges with i'm
perial purple. And now the precious
root was lost; and Mrs Senator Rivers,
the other great and rich lady of the
neighborhood, and Mrs. HarmOn's rival
in most things-Mrs. Senator Rivers
would certainly obtain the prize and
honor of possessing it, of which the
mistress Of Fairview was so anxiously,
and some people said so foolishly, ambi-
tious.
"It must have been Duncan's FAULT
said Mrs. Harmon, excitedly. "He was
careless with ii. cannot conceive how
otherwise the root could have been lost
/ remember perfectly that after mysel
taking il out of the jar-o sand PLACED
the bulb in some dry moss in a corner 0
the greenhouse shelf, and pointed it on
to Duncan, telling him that it must b,
set out to-day. And now it is not to b,
found and no one but Duncan has en-
tered the greenhouse since / left ii YES
terday. He has been making some ar
rangements there, he says-clearinl
away rubbish; and no doubt lie misplaced
and lost the bulb. ] have several time.
lately observed him to be careless, and
suspect, lazy"
"Oh no, mamma ~ observed Emma
a gentle, kindly-looking girl of fifteen
''not lazy, only old, you know, and moi
so brisk as people who are younger
He has been complaining Of rheuma-
tism.n
"You know nothing about it, ehild,r
said her mother, impatiently. "My
splendid dahlia :" here the tears actu-
ally came into her eyes, and she added,
81 gave the value of sos for it, and /
would give as much again for its re-
covery."
Fifty dollars, mamma, for fiower'
'FOr flower such as that. There is
but one other like it in the world.u
"rhen we will find it, mamma ~
shouted Walter, few years younger
than his sister, "me and Willie. You
promise to give S25 to any one who will
lind your lost dahlia root ?D
"1es," replied his mother; "tO YOU or
any one else who will find and bring il
TO me unhurt." But though the BOYS,
rs well as Emma and the gardener and
some Of the servants, searched all the
afternoons the missing root was not to
be discovered. SO Mrs. Gen Harmon,
never at any time q very reasonable
womans mourned over her loss, and
partly sOothed her aggrieved feelings 10y
dismissing the old Scotch gardener
Duncan, and taking i'm his place one
means as skillful as his predecessor
And Duncan, smarting under a sense o.
injustice, went forward and offered hil
services to Mrs. Rivers, who had lons
been desirOus of possessing them. Thu
Mrs. Harmon "spited nobody but her
self" as is generally the case when peo
pie act hastily in passion.
Now Duncan's successor at Fairviev
was young man named William Wat
son, who had long been in love with tn
pretty daughter of the widow Luttrell
who occupied that poor little cottage q
the far end of the village street. and elSe,
out a scanty pittance by taking i'm wash
ing, or any such job that offered, Will
Rose went out Sewing when she coul,
find the work TO do. Watson had lont
been anxious to supplant Duncan, am
it was, in fact, partly owing to his artfu
representations that he had at lengtl
succeeded; and his hope was now, tina
o. in view of the comfortable salary am
the pretty gardeners cottage at Fair
view, Rose might be induced 10 MARI
him. Great, therefore, was his chagrin
as well as resentment, when he foun
his offer of marriage for q second tim
rejected by the daughter of the poo
widow; and his ill-feeling was increases
on learning that Rose had all along pre-
ferred his own cousin, Robert Ward
and that the two were to be married a
soon as Ward could afford to purchase O
build n small cottage. But then tn
young man was, like his affianced, yer,
poor, doing a small trade in the villag
as placksnith's assistant, and IL woull
Rtooaoly be q long time that he an,
rose would have to wait for their cot
tase' Meantime, thought Watson, VIII
SS Nlh1lcuve, something might b
uOne 10 break of the match: and n
never wished this so ardentIy as wheI
he saw the young couple, bright an,
hAppy-looking, despite their 1overt1,
saunIef slowly past his own door q,
SUNDAY evenings on their wav 10 o.,
from church, and fancied in t5air s,,,iI III
ing looks that they were trinmnbin, hin,
over him. piiihl
80 the spring passed and the sun,n,a
came blossoming into the sroroao,,
luXuriousness Of July and Auenst ~,
the lst Of September was to be the o-roa
horticultural fair at Lexinpton 80
county town, about twelve miles distsr
from our little village Mrs. Senate
Rivers wanted some dresses made for III
little girls for this particular occasion
and, as was frequently the case, apple
for Rose LuttTelps service. So one morI
ing,about week before the 1st of Septen
ber, the young girl set out for thre'
mile walk to Mount JOY, whose turrete
roofs and many chimneys, rising aboy
a magnificent grove of old trees, sl
could see quite plainly from her ow