The record-union., 1897-04-12
SQUIRE THORPE'S BOTANY.

Squire Thorpe of Old Bevis lost all
interest in the garden party when a GER
tain pink blouse vanished from the
scene. Even tennis failed to charm,
and he would have been content to
forego the further pleasures OF the
gathering and ride home in no better
company than that of his own thoughts.
But he had promised to wal. for
Adams. and it would hardly look well,
after all, to run away so early.
He Joined his host, who was smoking
| lazy cigar under the elm. Sir John
would probably be able to tell him
something more concerning the pink
blouse than he had been able to gather
from the ordinary process of introduce
| ton.
Tired of tennis?" suggested the Bar
| onet lazily; rather warm game on
| day like this
Yes" assented Thorpe; its. very
| pleasant though, when you are playing
with nice people"
| He had touched the subject rather
rashly, but Sir John was quite unsus-
picious.
Il suppose So" was his careless re-
/ ply. Mice people are always pleasant
| in that way. You would find it differ
ent, though, if you had to entertain
them 1 don't mean the people we are
| familiar with, of course-they're all
right; but it's another thing with
strangers"
| Strangers! The pink blouse was GER
tainly stranger in the district.
| One has to know peoples interests
and find out what they like to talk
about" went on Sir John, fortunately
blind to his companions only half-con-
cealed Impotence TO hear more. And
there's the rub Some folks go in for
the most unearthly subjects. and of
course one must pretend to know some
thing about them. For instance now,
did you notice that girl in the pink
blouse, who came with the Hamptons,
and went away few minutes ago."
! Eth? Do you mean Miss-NIiss Pol
warth?' asked Thorpe, with sublime I'M
concern.
That's the name A nice-looking
girl enough. She belongs to the Pol
warths of Polwarth, a good old Cor
nish family though not as well off now
as it used to be- But that girl is girl
with a subject if you like-and what
|
| ly a lecturer upon it,"
| "What?-the rights of women" ask
ed Thorpe, slightly startled.
! Worse than that" said the Baronet
gloomily; 1--WE all know something of
that subject by this time. But her fad
| is botany, if you please-botany and
she lectures at ladies' college. What
ordinary man can talk botany?'
Thorpe made no answer. He sudden
| ly became aware that botany had never
been included in his studies.
when people go in deeply for that
kind of thing" continued Sir John,
they naturally like to talk about it..
What interest do you think that girl
would find in the ordinary chatter of a
gathering like this?"
Great Scott" muttered Thorpe,
land 1 talked to her myself for an hour
about nothing, She didn't seem to
mind it, but she must have been bored
to DEATH
"Of course she must said his host,
who had failed to catch more than the
last words of the remark. No doubt
that was why she went away so early.
But what can be done in such case
as that?"
Thorpe, bordering the matter with
mingled feelings of modification,
amusement, and disgust, could easily
have suggested a few things that
might have been done. But at that
moment the Baronet was called away,
and he was left alone with his sugges-
tons
It's a shame" he thought ssavagely.
It's shame to let a fellow put his
foot in it like that. People with fads
ought to be labeled or classified. Or
why shouldn't there be list of them
and their subjects on the back of the
invitation card? One would have some
chance then-she was a nice girl,
thought"
| Here he fell into a troubled reVerie,
in which the same pink blouse played
no small part. This mood remained
with him during the remainder of the
Gay, and Adams of the Grange found
him but an absent minded companion
on the ride home.
AS he passed through the hall on his
way to the library, he noticed the
Field" lying upon a table, and, sud-
denly remembering that matters botan-
! ical sometimes received attention in
that journal, he took it with him for
examination at his leisure.
| The yachting columns were passed
over with hardly a glance, for probably
the first time; the curiOsities in Notes
and Queries" failed to attract him, and
| he did not pause even to read an ac-
count of the match for the Gold Prize,
under the head of Tennis" These
| things were not for the Squire to-day,
and he was not satisfied until he
| he reached what were to him the
deeper waters of the Garden column.
| An hour later he went into the
grounds and interviewed the gardener.
Jenkyns was an old man who had spent
| long and easy years under the Thoi.pes,
| for the squires of Old Bevis had for
genera tons been noted rather as
| mighty hunters than as patrons of
| horticulture. That there was a GER
| tain amount of garden, and certain
convenient Conservatives and shrub
berries, had been quite enough for the
late Equire, and, until to-day, quite
enough for his successor. So Jenkyns
had been allowed to sleep in peace, and
now the old man stared in surprise to
find himself rudely awakened.
For the Squire had suddenly devel-
oped an intense interest in things hor-
/ glass and among the shrubs and into
| the forcing houses. He worried him
for scientific names and Towering sea-
sons. startled him with harsh, heart
breaking criticisms, and finally made
him admit that the Old Bevis gardens
were far from equal to those at Sir