"Mr. Primrose is round at the Rooms selling," replied the clerk, who
appeared to be very busy.
"Where are the Rooms?" I asked.
"Out of the door, turn to the left, turn to the left again and under
the clock," said the clerk, and closed the shutter.
So disgusted was I with his rudeness that I nearly gave up the
enterprise. Thinking better of it, however, I followed the directions
given, and in a minute or two found myself in a narrow passage that
led to a large room. To one who had never seen anything of the sort
before, this room offered a curious sight. The first thing I observed
was a notice on the wall to the effect that customers were not allowed
to smoke pipes. I thought to myself that orchids must be curious
flowers if they could distinguish between the smoke of a cigar and a
pipe, and stepped into the room. To my left was a long table covered
with pots of the most beautiful flowers that I had ever seen; all of
them orchids. Along the wall and opposite were other tables closely
packed with withered roots which I concluded were also those of
orchids.
Pages:
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54