cine. In the latter he has much excelled. As a florist he has had great local celebrity. His wallflower varieties have been notorious; while in forty years he had collected 20,000 tulips, tending them carefully and protecting the beds with awnings and other devices. At length the "sporting" he prized so much in his wallflowers, much to his annoyance set in with his tulips, while many of them failed to put in an appearance. It occurred to the owner that the failure in the tulips might be attributed to the vine and apricot roots, the trees of which, trained against the house-walls, had in the course of many years run out their roots to the tulip-beds. Unwilling to sacrifice the splendid crops of fruit which were generally produced, the tulips had to be removed. Mr. Budd has since then cared less for the tulip hobby he had so long ridden.'
In connexion with this happy athletic old gentleman let me quote Mr. Ffinch's cordial song 'The Fine Old English Cricketer', from the text given by Mr. Haygarth. Whether the poet had Mr. Budd in mind I know not; but let us think of him as we read it:
THE FINE OLD ENGLISH CRICKETER
Tune—'The fine Old English Gentleman,' or
'The Highland Home.'
I'll sing you a good old song, made to a good old rhyme,
Of a fine old English cricketer, who lov'd his old pastime;
Who deemed it nothing better than the very greatest crime
That cricket should be e'er forgot in any age or clime.
