84 ABOUT ORCHIDS. 
It turned up among a quantity of Cypripedium 
insigne in the greenhouse of Mrs. Spicer, a lady 
residing at Twickenham. Astonished at the ap- 
pearance of this swan among her ducks, she asked 
Mr. Veitch to look at it. He was delighted to 
pay seventy guineas down for such a prize. 
Cypripediums propagate easily, no more examples 
came into the market, and for some years this 
lovely species was a treasure for dukes and 
millionaires. It was no secret that the precious 
novelty came from Mrs. Spicer’s greenhouse ; but 
to call on a strange lady and demand how she 
became possessed of a certain plant is not a course 
of action that commends itself to respectable busi- 
ness men. The circumstances gave no clue. 
Messrs. Spicer were and are large manufacturers 
of paper; there is no visible connection betwixt 
paper and Indian orchids. By discreet inquiries, 
however, it was ascertained that one of the lady’s 
sons had a tea-plantation in Assam. Nomore was 
needed. By the next mail Mr. Forstermann started 
for that vague destination, and in process of time 
reached Mr. Spicer’s bungalow. There he asked 
for “a job.” None could be found for him ; but 
tea-planters are hospitable, and the stranger was 
invited to stop a day or two. But he could not 
lead the conversation towards orchids—perhaps 
