RECOLLECTIONS, 1862-65. 45 



pair of kid gloves on my hands. O ! but I am not 

 going to give you all that ; I wish to keep some 

 for what I may buy in New York. Well before I 

 go to New York I want to see what you have, in 

 order that I should not buy inferior plants. Well, sir, 

 we will show you the whole of our " elephant " that I 

 have trained since I was able to understand that three 

 are not a unit no more than 2 and 2 make three, but 

 four 4. I will show you all we have, because when 

 you come back from the Imperial City you will buy 

 more, so as to let me have those 1,000 pictures to 

 adorn my office or bed room, where I brew my horti- 

 cultural notions and others .... He passed the remark 

 how do you know that I will buy more ? I know it, 

 if you speak earnestly that you want so and so be- 

 cause you will not find them there better than I have 

 and no cheaper. I do not care about cheaper I want 

 the lest f All right, sir, we agree ; it is understood 

 you come again of course I must, to give you some 

 instructions about shipping, etc. Yes ! and buy more 

 plants to absorb the balance of these $1,000 that I am 

 so eager to add to the list of my new plants. . . .He 

 did come and gave me upward of 900 dollars and be- 

 sides an order for some officinal plants, such as Laurus 

 camphora, Caryophyllus aromaticus, etc., but he never 

 had them. I heard that not long after our transaction 

 he gave up the plants or the green pictures left him 



