AT A ROSE-SHOW. 2/5 



Another failure of empirical knavery, another slip be- 

 tween the cup of silver and the lip of stratagem, occurs to 

 my recollection. It was my good fortune to win a prize 

 goblet, annually given for Roses at one of our midland 

 shows, so frequently, that my success became monotonously 

 irksome to the competitors generally, but specially to one 

 of these covetous exhibitors who grow Roses only for gain. 

 He induced, as it afterwards transpired, two other growers 

 of the Rose to combine with him in an attempt '* to beat 

 the parson ; " and so sure was this clique of success, that 

 they brought a couple of bottles of wine to the show, to be 

 quaffed from the cup, which I won easily. In the afternoon 

 I happened to come upon the conspirators drinking their 

 port in a quiet corner of the grounds, and one of them not 

 only invited me to partake, but, as from a sudden impulse, 

 and as though the truth must come out with the wine, to 

 my intense amusement, and to the still more intense amaze- 

 ment of his friends, revealed all the history of their little 

 game. He declared that he was thoroughly ashamed of 

 " the job," and was heartily glad they were beat. Truly it 

 was a strange confession, but I believe the penitence was 

 sincere. 



TJie Despondent Exhibitor is also an exceptional, but by 



