; that the blessing was
withheld from civilised man until, step by step, he gained the conditions
necessary to receive it. Order and commerce in the first place; mechanical
invention next, such as swift ships and easy communications; glass-houses,
and a means of heating them which could be regulated with precision and
maintained with no excessive care; knowledge both scientific and
practical; the enthusiasm of wealthy men; the thoughtful and patient
labour of skilled servants--all these were needed to secure for us the
delights of orchid culture. What boon granted to mankind stands in like
case? I think of none. Is it unreasonable then to believe, as was said,
that orchids were designed at their inception to comfort the elect in this
anxious age?'[1]

Mr. Measures, however, was quite unconscious of his opportunities. It was
mere chance which put him on the right track. Tempted by the prospect of
obtaining something, forgotten now, in the way of roses or carnations or
chrysanthemums, he attended a local sale. Presently some pots of
Cypripedium barbatum were put up, in bud and flower. They seemed curious
and pretty--he bought them. It was a relief to find that his gardener did
not show any surprise or embarrassment at the sight--appeared to be
familiar with the abnormal objects indeed. But it would have been
subversive of discipline to ask how they were called. So Mr. Measures
worked round and round the secret, putting questions--what heat did the
things require, what soil, would the green-house already built suit them,
and so forth? Finally, in talking, the gardener pronounced the
name--Cypripedium. Planting this long word deep and firm in his memory Mr.
Measures hurried to the house, looked it out in the multitudinous books on
gardening already stored there, and discovered that Cypripedium is an
orchid. Pursuing the investigation further, he learned that orchids are
the choicest of flowers, that several thousand species of them, all
beautiful and different, may be cultivated, that some are easy and some
difficult. It dawned upon him then that this might well be the special
variety of plant which would answer his purpose.

But he was not the man to choose a hobby without grave deliberation and
experiment. The very next essay, only three days afterwards, suggested a
doubt. He saw a plant of Dendrobium thyrsiflorum in flower, and carried it
home in a whirl of astonishment and delight; but next morning every bloom
had fade