THE LUXURY OF THE DAY. "Mr Manton" and the Orchids.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 338, 30 January 1889, Page 6

THE LUXUR Y OF THE DAY. "Mr Manton" and the Orchids.

The case.of ,« Sander v. the Duchess of Montrose,' which has occupied a special jury in the High Court of justice for a couple of i -days, is a very curious .illustration of the manners 'and. i luxury of* our . times. The Duchess 01,-Monbrose, .is perhaps , better known tip the worldtwbich knowsh^r beet as I ' Mr Manto'n. " In that nameher horses run upon the, <-uif,> and in. that name she < had r.achieved a wider "contem'-' porary fame than that which belongs to the- historic » title , she- bears. ,As ! a , well-known magnate of the turf she occupies a .house called Sefton Lodge, at Nevvmarkeb, and to thik house is attached , a conservatory of magnificent- proportions. It is described as having a central dome .with two wings. Having resolved' bo convert this conservatory into a' pleasant lounge for herself .and her guests during their stay at Newmarket, the ducheas, on ;tbe recommendation of the* Duke of Marl-, borough, sought the adviceiand assistance of Mr Sander, a specialist in floriculture> more particularly in the cultivation of orchids. Mr Sander constructed a rockery under the central', dome, and furnished it with waterfalls and other, costly luxuries of the kind. For this he proposed to charge £554, though tbex*e Avas no contract, and Mr Sander- seems to have indulged in ' the rather incautious practice of carrying orders of the kind, in his head without even booking' them. The wings', were filled, one with geraniums and other ordinary plants, the other with 1.000 orchids, for which Mr Sander was to charge a guinea- apiece.., Again the 'order ivvas carried in Mr Sander's imprudent head and Was not booked. When this lordly pleasure house was completed, the duchess surveyed it andfound it satisfactory, at least so she is alleged to have said to. Mr Sander's.foreman—though she thought the display of orchids was deficient in colour, the blooms being for the most part white. She accordingly sent a message to Mr Sander, through his foreman, to supply more coloured blooms at a cost not exceeding £200. This, at any rate, was the foreman's story, though the duchess denied it in the witness-box. She apparently seems to have expected that a certain number of the redundant white orchids would be taken away and their place supplied by blooms of a darker colour. The resources of Mr Sander's establishment were nob equal to the supply o£ more than £126 worth of coloured orchids, but these were sent. The duchess was > pleased at . the execution of her orders, her friends and guests were delighted with the result, and the Prince of Wales honoured the palace .of delight with his presence at an entertainment given during the Newmarket July 'Meeting. » But no sooner was 1 the bill sent in than matters took a different turn. The invoices seem to have been delivered with remarkable promptitude, foritwasonlyon the 18th July that Mr Sander wrote bo the duchess, saying that the full amount of his bill 'was about £1,700, and asking for £500 on account. A little -episode recounted in Mr Sandei'.'s evidence -may,, perhaps, .account for this prom ptitudei >'l had had a previous transaction wibh,the duchess,' he said. 'She came down, to ♦my .nurseries with the Duke of Marlborough.' ' £>he bought foui* orchids for ten guineas,', which she has never paid me for.' Not a very profitable transaction, perhaps ; but," as the Duke of Marlborough naively remarked on this occasion, the duchess was.likely to prove a valuable customer to Mr Sander, and. Mr Sander himself -acknowledged ,fchafc he ' thought she .would be a new market for him. 3 Mr Sauder, bo do him justice, did nob neglect the ordinary arts of those who cater for the luxuries of the great and wealthy. He was quite affable to the Duke of Marlborough, and he entered into confidential relations with the duchess's head gardener. The correspondence of this worthy, who is no longer in the.service of the duchess, is* very entertaiuing reading. - To Mr Sander's manager he .wrote, becomingly enough, 'lean assure' you her .grace is delighted with the* palinh'ouse,' though towards the end of the letter he lapsed into a less dignified style, arid said, ''Mr Sander rhust keep the pot boiling now'sheis right.' To Mr Sander himself he was more familiar and plain-spoken, not to say disrespectful. c I am,< sure,' he wrote, ' I ghall get the old gal round about theorchids. Ihad one or two long"chat 4 with her,' arid 'I 'think' that I quite' talked her' round. ' . .'. . All things are' 1 lt>bki'ng* <! welV arid" tile' old gal was very pleased. ' We have no doubt'the duchess was very pleaded until she received the bill "and i:be 'demand for payment. When she did' she protested that the charge' was "exorbitant, that she never meant to pay more than £1,000 for the orchids,' and,, she subsequently complained that the charge for the. rockery was excessive. The suit, winch was decided on Thursday week, arose out of this dispute. The duc.hess < deniecLthab^he I hsLd ever given an order for £200 worth of, coloured orchids, in addition to those originally ordered, and again' contended ' that "the charge for the, rockery was excessive. " The jury, however/ without leaving tlie box, . found a verdio,t for 'the plaintiff for the f till amount claihfed. We miisti say' that, considering his loose way oi 'doing business, and his rather com" promising correspondence* with the late 1 head gardener ot the duchess, Mr Sander seems to have found a very com passiWate, jury. On the .other x handi it is strange that the ; Ducliess 'of M6ntrose should nob havo found out' before l thjs 'that luxuries have to be paid for, and ■ that those who are rich may expect to'haye to 'pay 1 for' them handsomely. This was evidently the view taken;' by' the 1 jury. There was 'ho very ' definite 'bargain, oh 'eitfher'side.H ' Mr' Sander' thought that he had got a new market and a valuable^ customer, and the duchess probably though tr little about the matter * until' she> was' called Gn bo pay 'the' bill: > v Then ■> <she found thab orchids ! and' their< J purveyors are very expensive luxuries indeed. s^ So they are' and so they- always uilLbe, especially to duchesses whp give verbal orders tqtoadesmen who mnkWio record of the transaction. ' The whole story, is, ppt^ery -edifying as 'jin example of that^unlim^ted luxury of life^in whi,ch some great people* are not ashamed i tyj .indulge"; and perhaps, the. sa,fesb moral to ''draw from ibis that thdse who permit themselves those costly '-indulgences should either cbunb % bliej,cosb beforehand or pay for* bhem. afterwards without contesb or complainb^'Tinifk'V': 1 ; < ; ... >\"

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