The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories

before you the brown shrivelled lump of tissue, and for the rest you must trust

appy purchaser, day after day, some new variety, some novel richness, a strange twist of the labellum, or some subtler colouration or unexpected mimicry. Pride, beauty, and profit blossom together on one delicate

nterest to do in the world. He was a shy, lonely, rather ineffectual man, provided with just enough income to keep off the spur of necessity, and not enough nervous energy to make him seek any exacting

that something is going to happen to me to-d

also his remote cousin. For "something happening"

nothing unpleasant…though wh

of plants from the Andamans and the Indies. I shall go up and see what t

p for his second

r young fellow you told me of the other day

became meditative ov

r people. There is Harvey. Only the other week; on Monday he picked up sixpence, on Wednesday his chicks all had the staggers,

so much excitement," said his house

a little boy I never had accidents. I never fell in love as I grew up. Never marrie

d malarial fever four times, and once he broke his thigh. He killed a Malay once, and once he was wounded by a poisoned dart. And in the end he was

good for him," said th

m going up by the quarter to twelve train, so that there is plenty of time. I think I shall w

serene sky and sunlit garden, and

to London," she said in a voice that admitted of no deni

had made a purchase. It was rare that he could make up his

They were laid out on the spotless tablecloth before him, and he was telling his cousin all about them as he slowly meandered t

m-I feel sure, do you know, that some of them will be remarkable. I don't know how it is, bu

t may be a Palaeonophis-or it may not. It may be a new species, or ev

it," said his housekeeper.

cely seems to

hings that stick out,

ut away in a p

housekeeper, "like a

can never judge of these things from their dry appearance. It may turn out to be a very beautiful orchid indeed. How bus

ed up under his body. He had been unwell for some days with some kind of native fever, and I suppose he fainted. These mangrove swamps are very un

the better o

en may weep," said Wedder

to themselves they would live on chlorodyne and quinine-and no one round you but horrible natives! They say the Andaman islanders are most disgus

y were sufficiently civilised to take care of all his collection until his colleague, who was an ornithologist, came back again from t

em. And just think, there has been a dead body lying across that ugly thing! I neve

u like, and put them in the window-se

and all the other mysteries of the orchid cultivator. He considered he was having a wonderfully eventful time. In the evening h

trange orchid began to show signs of life. He was delighted, and took his houseke

will be a lot of leaves there, and those litt

ngers poking out of the brown," said

y n

ngers trying to get at you. I ca

s I know that have aerial rootlets quite like that. It may be my

g away. "I know it's very silly of me-and I'm very sorry, particularly

articular plant. That was

her shoulders. "Anyhow I

t that did not prevent his talking to her about orchids gener

inary orchid flower was contrived in order that moths might carry the pollen from plant to plant. Well, it seems that there are lots of orchids known the flower of which cannot possibly b

they form

f outgrowth. That is easily explained.

ve often thought of making researches as Darwin did. But hitherto I have not found the time, or something el

r with incredible rapidity. So that she had settled to her entire satisfaction that she would not see that plant again, and Wedderburn had to admire its leaves alone. They were of the ordinary broad form, and a deep glossy green, with splashes and dots of deep red towards the base He knew of no other l

out, although his great Paloeonophis Lowii hid the corner where his new darling stood. There was a new odour in

railing green spikes bore now three great splashes of blossom, from which this ove

ricate projection, and a wonderful bluish purple mingled there with the gold. He could see at once that the genu

ng appeared unsteady. The bricks on the floor were dancing up and down. Then the white blossoms, the

*

, according to their invariable custom. B

old herself, and waited ten minutes. "His wat

was no reply. She noticed that the air was very close, and loaded with an intense

perhaps, she s

otlets no longer swayed freely in the air, but were crowded together, a tangle of grey ro

der one of the exultant tentacles upon his c

d to pull him away from the leech-like suckers. She sn

and hastily opened the nearest door, and, after she had panted for a moment in the fresh air, she had a brilliant inspiration. She caught up a flower-pot and smashed in the windows at the end of the greenhouse. Then she re-entered.

lets one by one, and in another minute she had rele

leeding from a doz

ng of glass, and saw her emerge, hauling the inanimate body wi

unnatural alacrity, he returned with the water, he found her weeping with excit

rburn, opening his eyes feebly,

nce," she said to the odd-job man so soon as he brought the water; and add

ng that he was troubled by the puzzle of his position

the o

e to that,

gave him brandy mixed with some pink extract of meat, and carried him upstairs to bed. His housekeepe

hered amidst a number of dark stains upon the bricks. The stem of the inflorescence was broken by the fall of the plant, and the flowers were growing

mittently in the morning breeze, and all the array of Wedderburn's orchids was shrivelled and prostr