"Primroses--I knew there was something. Where are they?"
"It"s too early for them," said James hastily. "You won"t get primroses now before April."
"Don"t say "now," as if it were my fault. Why didn"t you plant them earlier? I don"t believe you know any of the tricks of your profession, James. You never seem to graft anything or prune anything, and I"m sure you don"t know how to cut a slip. James, why don"t you prune more? Prune now--I should like to watch you. Where"s your pruning-hook? You can"t possibly do it with a rake."
James spends most of his day with a rake--sometimes leaning on it, sometimes working with it. The beds are always beautifully kept.
Only the most hardy annual would dare to poke its head up and spoil the smooth appearance of the soil. For those who like circles and rectangles of unrelieved brown, James is undoubtedly the man.
As I stood in the sun I had a brilliant idea.
"James," I said, "we"ll cut the croquet lawn this afternoon."
"You can"t play croquet to-day, it"s not warm enough."
"I don"t pay you to argue, but to obey. At the same time I should like to point out that I never said I was going to play croquet. I said that we, meaning you, would cut the lawn."
"What"s the good of that?"
"Why, to encourage the wonderful day, of course. Where is your grat.i.tude, man? Don"t you want to do something to help? How can we let a day like this go past without some word of welcome? Out with the mower, and let us hail the pa.s.sing of winter."
James looked at me in disgust.
"Grat.i.tude!" he said indignantly to Heaven. "And there"s my eleven crocuses in the front all a-singing together like anything on three bob a week!"
THE ORDEAL BY FIRE
Our Flame-flower, the Family Flame-flower, is now plainly established in the north-east corner of the pergola, and flourishes exceedingly. There, or thereabouts, it will remain through the generations to come--a cascade of glory to the eye, a fountain of pride to the soul. "Our fathers" fathers," the unborn will say of us, "performed this thing; they toiled and suffered that we might front the world with confidence--a family secure in the knowledge that it has been tried by fire and not found wanting...."
The Atherley"s flame-flower, I am glad to inform you, is dead.
We started the work five years ago. I was young and ignorant then--I did not understand. One day they led me to an old apple tree and showed me, fenced in at its foot, two twigs and a hint of leaf. "The flame-flower!" they said, with awe in their voices. I was very young; I said that I didn"t think much of it. It was from that moment that my education began....
Everybody who came to see us had to be shown the flame-flower.
Visitors were conducted to the apple tree in solemn procession, and presented. They peered over the fence and said, "A-ah!" just as if they knew all about it. Perhaps some of them did. Perhaps some of them had tried to grow it in their own gardens.
As November came on and the air grew cold, the question whether the flame-flower should winter abroad became insistent. After much thought it was moved to the shrubbery on the southern side of the house, where it leant against a laburnum until April. With the spring it returned home, seemingly stronger for the change; but the thought of winter was too much for it, and in October it was ordered south again.
For the next three years it was constantly trying different climates and testing various diets. Though it was touch and go with it all this time our faith was strong, our courage unshaken. June, 1908, found it in the gravel-pit. It seemed our only hope....
And in the August of that year I went and stayed with the Atherleys.
One morning at breakfast I challenged Miss Atherley to an immediate game of tennis.
"Not directly after," said Mrs Atherley, "it"s so bad for you.
Besides, we must just plant our flame-flower first."
I dropped my knife and fork and gazed at her open-mouthed.
"Plant your--WHAT?" I managed to say at last.
"Flame-flower. Do you know it? John brought one down last night--it looks so pretty growing up anything."
"It won"t take a moment," said Miss Atherley, "and then I"ll beat you."
"But--but you mustn"t--you--you mustn"t talk like THAT about it," I stammered." Th-that"s not the way to talk about a flame-flower."
"Why, what"s wrong?"
"You"re just going to plant it! Before you play tennis! It isn"t a--a b.u.t.tERCUP! You can"t do it like that."
"Oh, but do give us any hints--we shall be only too grateful."
"Hints! Just going to plant it!" I repeated, getting more and more indignant. "I--I suppose Sir Christopher Wren s-said to his wife at breakfast one morning, "I"ve just got to design St Paul"s Cathedral, dear, and then I"ll come and play tennis with you. If you can give me any hints--""
"Is it really so difficult?" asked Mrs Atherley. "We"ve seen lots of it in Scotland."
"In Scotland, yes. Not in the South of England." I paused, and then added, "WE have one."
"What soil is yours? Do you plant it very deep? Do they like a lot of water?" These and other technical points were put to me at once.
"Those are mere details of horticulture," I said. "What I am protesting against is the whole spirit in which you approach the business--the light-hearted way in which you a.s.sume that you can support a flame-flower. You have to be a very superior family indeed to have a flame-flower growing in your garden."
They laughed. They thought I was joking.
"Well, we"re going to plant it now, anyhow," said Miss Atherley.
"Come along and help us."
We went out, six of us, Mrs Atherley carrying the precious thing; and we gathered round an old tree trunk in front of the house.
"It would look rather pretty here," said Mrs Atherley. "Don"t you think?"
I gave a great groan.
"You--you--you"re all wrong again," I said in despair. "You don"t put a flame-flower in a place where you think it will look pretty; you try in all humility to find a favoured spot where it will be pleased to grow. There may be such a spot in your garden or there may not. Until I know you better I cannot say. But it is extremely unlikely to be here, right in front of the window."