AN ORCHID SALE, 25 
to the initiated that their “ establishment” is little 
more than a phrase. Those garlands of bud were 
conceived, so to speak, in Indian forests, have lain 
dormant through the long voyage, and began to 
show a few days since when restored to a con- 
genial atmosphere. All our interest concentrates 
in the unlovely things along the wall. 
The habitual attendants at an auction-room are 
always somewhat of a family party, but, asa rule, 
an ugly one. It is quite different with the regular 
sroup of orchid-buyers. No black sheep there. 
A dispute is the rarest of events, and when it 
happens everybody takes for granted that the 
cause is a misunderstanding. The professional 
srowers are men of wealth, the amateurs men of 
standing at least. All know each other, and a 
cheerful familiarity rules. We have a duke in 
person frequently, who compares notes and asks a 
hint from the authorities around; some clergy- 
men; gentry of every rank; the recognized 
agents of great cultivators, and, of course, the 
representatives of the large trading firms. So 
narrow even yet is the circle of orchidaceans that 
almost all the faces at a sale are recognized, and 
if one wish to learn the names, somebody present 
can nearly always supply them. There is reason 
to. hope that this will not be the case much 
