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Authors: Ann Featherstone
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till the final trumpet? What
about your proposition?'
Titus Strong frowned.
'I
was putting together the right words in my head, Grace, my dear, before my
tongue uttered them.' He paused and stared at me long and hard. 'Well, Bob, we
know each other pretty well. After all these years, I've come to think of you
like a son - and you've always shown an interest in the gardens - and I'm not
as young as I was - and - well, I'd like you to consider - whether it wouldn't
be half a bad idea - if you were to come into the business - in a small way to
start with. Your own cart? And some customers to take care of? Think about it,
eh?'
'Something to consider, for the future, Bob,' put in
Mrs S.
'Indeed,' said Strong. 'No decisions necessary
today, lad.
Give
it a thought, that's all. And I will pray on it to the Lord and listen to Him.
We'll talk about it again.'
That
was a year ago. Now, warm and comfortable back in the kitchen, I noticed Titus
Strong's Bible on a little table by his chair, snug up to the fire, where the
kettle was rumbling away.
'Bob,'
he said, 'you remember that matter I mentioned to you? About you coming into
the business? Well, the Lord has put it in my mind again this week.' He patted
the Bible. 'He tells me it's time we made some plans.'
Mrs Strong smiled. 'To speak plainly, Bob—'
'Nay,
Grace,' said her husband, sharply. 'This is my tale. My moment in the sun.'
'Look
sharp, then,' she retorted, good-humouredly. 'Bob hasn't got all the time in
the world like some market- gardeners!'
'Well
then,' said my friend. 'Bob. We have talked about you coming into the business.
We've agreed that you should start with your own bit of trade. Get yourself
some regular custom in the city, a regular run to the market, and out to his
Lordship in the season.' (This was Lord Bedford, or some such titled gentleman,
whose table Titus Strong supplied.) 'I want to take my ease a little more.'
Mrs
Strong was listening carefully, that elegant face still and serious.
'So
I have decided, Bob, that come the spring, you shall, if you want it, have an
interest in this place. Now, you'll need a horse and cart, and I cannot give
you that. I have only the one and I still need it myself, for I have my
customers and my local trade. But, if you can raise the money and buy a good
cart, not wormy and falling asunder, and a horse that will not need the
services of the knacker-man within six months, then you and I can sit at this
table and, as they say, "agree terms".'
Mrs
S shifted in her seat. 'He has talked about it to me, Bob, and I am in
agreement.'
She
had a beautiful smile, which she turned upon him and, for a moment, I envied my
old friend. Grace Strong was perhaps twenty years younger than her husband.
Even more. And yet there was such love and affection between them, they might
have been a young couple in the honey-days of their marriage. He took her hand
and kissed it.
'Now,
Bob,' he said, 'will you give my proposal your best attention? And give me an
answer the next time you call? And I hope that will be before Christmas?'
I
drank tea and ate a slice of Mrs Strong's plum cake, and warmed my toes on the
fender. Brutus and Nero, with much sighing and snoring, lay at our feet,
stretched out in front of the range, toasting their bellies and only raising
their heads to enjoy a scratch, and I thought, this could be my life, one of
industry and ease, work and comfort. It had much to recommend it, and with
only a little effort on my part, by the new year, it could be within my grasp.
We
set out for the Aquarium with a light step and a warm heart.
Fish-lane
— Pilgrim and the Other —
Tipney's Gaff
We
made good time - I have worked out a route through the back streets which
avoids the congestion of the main thoroughfares. Besides, I had a lot to
consider. With the extra work at the Pavilion, I could save more, but I would
have to work harder at the Aquarium to make up for the hours lost. Mr Abrahams,
I was sure, would be
about your proposition?'
Titus Strong frowned.
'I
was putting together the right words in my head, Grace, my dear, before my
tongue uttered them.' He paused and stared at me long and hard. 'Well, Bob, we
know each other pretty well. After all these years, I've come to think of you
like a son - and you've always shown an interest in the gardens - and I'm not
as young as I was - and - well, I'd like you to consider - whether it wouldn't
be half a bad idea - if you were to come into the business - in a small way to
start with. Your own cart? And some customers to take care of? Think about it,
eh?'
'Something to consider, for the future, Bob,' put in
Mrs S.
'Indeed,' said Strong. 'No decisions necessary
today, lad.
Give
it a thought, that's all. And I will pray on it to the Lord and listen to Him.
We'll talk about it again.'
That
was a year ago. Now, warm and comfortable back in the kitchen, I noticed Titus
Strong's Bible on a little table by his chair, snug up to the fire, where the
kettle was rumbling away.
'Bob,'
he said, 'you remember that matter I mentioned to you? About you coming into
the business? Well, the Lord has put it in my mind again this week.' He patted
the Bible. 'He tells me it's time we made some plans.'
Mrs Strong smiled. 'To speak plainly, Bob—'
'Nay,
Grace,' said her husband, sharply. 'This is my tale. My moment in the sun.'
'Look
sharp, then,' she retorted, good-humouredly. 'Bob hasn't got all the time in
the world like some market- gardeners!'
'Well
then,' said my friend. 'Bob. We have talked about you coming into the business.
We've agreed that you should start with your own bit of trade. Get yourself
some regular custom in the city, a regular run to the market, and out to his
Lordship in the season.' (This was Lord Bedford, or some such titled gentleman,
whose table Titus Strong supplied.) 'I want to take my ease a little more.'
Mrs
Strong was listening carefully, that elegant face still and serious.
'So
I have decided, Bob, that come the spring, you shall, if you want it, have an
interest in this place. Now, you'll need a horse and cart, and I cannot give
you that. I have only the one and I still need it myself, for I have my
customers and my local trade. But, if you can raise the money and buy a good
cart, not wormy and falling asunder, and a horse that will not need the
services of the knacker-man within six months, then you and I can sit at this
table and, as they say, "agree terms".'
Mrs
S shifted in her seat. 'He has talked about it to me, Bob, and I am in
agreement.'
She
had a beautiful smile, which she turned upon him and, for a moment, I envied my
old friend. Grace Strong was perhaps twenty years younger than her husband.
Even more. And yet there was such love and affection between them, they might
have been a young couple in the honey-days of their marriage. He took her hand
and kissed it.
'Now,
Bob,' he said, 'will you give my proposal your best attention? And give me an
answer the next time you call? And I hope that will be before Christmas?'
I
drank tea and ate a slice of Mrs Strong's plum cake, and warmed my toes on the
fender. Brutus and Nero, with much sighing and snoring, lay at our feet,
stretched out in front of the range, toasting their bellies and only raising
their heads to enjoy a scratch, and I thought, this could be my life, one of
industry and ease, work and comfort. It had much to recommend it, and with
only a little effort on my part, by the new year, it could be within my grasp.
We
set out for the Aquarium with a light step and a warm heart.
Fish-lane
— Pilgrim and the Other —
Tipney's Gaff
We
made good time - I have worked out a route through the back streets which
avoids the congestion of the main thoroughfares. Besides, I had a lot to
consider. With the extra work at the Pavilion, I could save more, but I would
have to work harder at the Aquarium to make up for the hours lost. Mr Abrahams,
I was sure, would be
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