THE ARISTOCRAT OF THE BULB GARDENS 87 



were priceless tulips. Which last story is some- 

 what hard to believe, for if the rich merchant and 

 tulip fancier was anything like the Dutchmen of 

 to-day, he would not have left his priceless bulbs 

 lying about, either by his kitchen door or any- 

 where else. And if the sailor was so really foolish 

 as, at that time when tulips were the things of 

 moment, to mistake an uncooked one for an 

 onion, he would have been better informed about 

 a cooked one. He would not, as according to 

 the tale he did, have needed enlightening by the 

 merchant, who is narrated to have exclaimed, after 

 the event : " Inconsiderate man ! Thou hast ruined 

 me with thy breakfast ! I could have regaled a 

 king with it ! " If the king had been so regaled, 

 at least with cooked tulips, it is possible the royal 

 pleasure would not have been great, for tulips, 

 according to those who have tried them, are very 

 poor eating. Parkinson, certainly, says they are 

 pleasant, though truth compels him to qualify the 

 statement by adding, "at least, not unpleasant." 

 He, by his own account, tried them preserved in 

 sugar, and apparently did not persevere with his 

 experiment, as he ascribes no medicinal value to 

 them. 



It is the custom to say that the romance of 



