372 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



JANUARY 27. 1S98. 



A TEMPORARY ECLIPSE. 



Tlie place at Lonesomehurst wore a 

 subdued and melancholy air; its gayety 

 was under eclipse. The joyous Jaggs, 

 who grew restive after the Christmas 

 rush, had wandered away without for- 

 mal leavetaking. and under circum- 

 stances which rather clouded his pop- 

 ularity. The boss had taken a contract 

 to pot up and generally set in order a 

 lot of demoralized orchids belonging 

 to a near-by amateur, and as Jaggs 

 possessed more knowledge on the sub- 

 ject than anyone else on the place, he 

 was sent over to attend to the work. 

 Then, in an evil hour, the boss went to 

 a town in an adjoining state, to make 

 an estimate on some planting. Jaggs 

 finished the orchids, collected the 

 money for the work from the amateur 

 who was much taken by his profound 

 knowledge and agreeable manners, 

 then went back to Lonesomehurst and 

 collected his week's wages from "the 

 missis." Then, after borrowing from 

 the Scotch propagator the Sunday suit 

 which that worthy described as his 

 "blacks," Jaggs departed. Hunting up 

 the absent boss. Jaggs described his 

 regret at leaving Lonesomehurst, and 

 asked for his week's wages and a tri- 

 fling advance until he should return 

 from the pressing business which now 

 called him away. He received the wa- 

 ges, but not the advance. However, 

 having thoughtfully annexed a couple 

 of budding knives and a stray ther- 

 mometer or two, by way of souvenirs, 

 he was able to go on his way rejoicing. 

 When the "old man" got back to Lone- 

 somehurst and discovered the way in 

 which the deceptive Jaggs had levied 

 contributions, his state of mind was 

 worthy of deep commiseration. He 



didn't say very much, but what he did 

 say upon the subject was put in italics, 

 and whenever Jaggs was mentioned 

 among the men. Tommy Atkins al- 

 ways suggested the propriety of remov- 

 ing Marmaduke, the parrot, "in case 

 as the boss might 'appen to be sayin' 

 w'at 'e think about Jagg's prospects." 



It was a few weeks after the disap- 

 pearance of Jaggs that Tommy got a 

 brief leave of absence, which he occu- 

 pied in visiting a friend who was deck- 

 steward on an Atlantic liner. Tommy's 

 return from one of these excursions 

 was always looked for with some ex- 

 ciiement by the potting-shed coterie. 

 He always brought with him a choice 

 collection of the newest trans-Atlantic 

 anecdotes and music-hall songs, to say 

 nothing of more material cheer. The 

 men were seated in their usual places 

 on the various boxes and barrels that 

 formed the potting-shed divans, smok- 

 ing their after-supper pipes in silent 

 meditation, when the wanderer burst 

 in. Everyone brightened up; even the 

 horticultural graduate forgot his dig- 

 nity, and rushed forward with the rest. 

 Tommy beamed affably at his audience, 

 remar^wug: " 'Ere. ketch 'old o' that 

 some o' you chaps, till I gets my coat 

 hoff," at the same time handing two or 

 three packages to Davie. "Steam all 

 right, Jimmy? Maybe we've got a bit 

 o' use for them steam-pipes," and he 

 winked affably at the graduate, while 

 he continued to search through his 

 overcoat pockets. 



"Whaur ye been linkin' round this 

 time. Tommy?" inquired Davie, dexter- 

 ously catching a bundle of Greenock 

 papers which Tommy unearthed from 

 his capacious pockets. 



"Oh, just visitin' a few o' the chaps 



aboard the Carpathic. Yer know as I 

 took a few runs myself; that was after 

 I go across in one o' they cattle steam- 

 ers." 



"What was you doin' on a cattle 

 steamer?" inquired the night fireman. 



"Just chaperonin' a deck load o' 

 steers," observed Tommy, indifferently. 



" 'And us over that there brown pa- 

 per parcel, and we'll get supper agoin' 

 while I tell you a thing or two," and 

 Tommy began slowly to peel off nu- 

 merous wrappings. The object of his 

 solicitude was finally revealed as a 

 large round mass tightly clad in a din- 

 gy cloth, tied up with string. The hor- 

 ticultural graduate, whose youth had 

 passed in an environment of pumpkin 

 pie. gazed at it with some suspicion, 

 but the others recognized the familiar 

 contour, and Tommy continued: 



"Yes. that's a real imported Christ- 

 mas puddin'. same as we used to get at 

 'ome, and it didn't pay no bloomin' 

 Dingley hadd vollerum. neither. We'll 

 set it on the pipes, while we 'as a start 

 on the menoo." 



By the time the pudding had been 

 dissected with a budding-knife, and 

 dished out on an array of orchid blocks 

 Tommy was ready to give a joyous ver- 

 sion of his holiday adventures. 



"You chaps 11 never guess who I 

 see — Jaggsl and 'e's been and gone in- 

 to the mermaid business — anything 

 fishy is right in 'is line." 



There was an astonished pause, 

 while Tommy dexterously harpooned a 

 large slab of mahogany colored pud- 

 ding upon the tip of his knife. "Me and 

 Johnson." he continued, "takes a stroll 

 down by the Brooklyn bridge to see a 

 bird-stuftin' chap as was mountin' a lot 

 of parrots for one o' the stewards on a 

 Red D. steamer. First thing we see. 

 when we open the door, was a stuffed 

 leopard grinnin' like a Cheshire cat. 

 and the next thing was Jaggs, talkin' 

 to a chap as wore a necktie like a col- 

 ored supplement, with a regular head- 

 light for a scarf-pin. Jaggs smiled 

 pleasantly, and 'e says, 'Glad as you 

 'appeaned in. What do you think the 

 right finish for a mermaid — dull sur- 

 face or shellac?' Me and Johnson 

 nearly falls down: we wasn't neither of 

 us so chummy with mermaids as to 

 know just 'ow they sets off their com- 

 plexions. The other chap says as 'e 

 never see a mermaid yet as wasn't 

 shellacked, then 'e get out." 



"Well, I guess a fellow would be just 

 as likely to see a mermaid without 

 shellac as ■with it, seeing there's no 

 such thing," observed the graduate, 

 with scorn. 



"Say, Johnny, was you born ignor- 

 ant, or did you just acquire it?" asked 

 Tommy, sweetly. "You see, the bird- 

 stuffln' chap made mermaids and all 

 them natural curiosities for the mus- 

 eum trade; 'e 'ears Jaggs tell about 

 the beasts as 'e see horchid collectin', 

 and thinks as 'e know a thing or two. 

 Jaggs was thinkin' o' takin' a job as 

 'orticultural reporter on one o' they 

 Sunday newspapers, but 'e say as they 



