CHAPTER 6: Meeting Mr. Ward
Fernie stood fidgeting whilst
Nellie helped her into the final part of her evening dress. “Arms up, Miss
Fernie!” she directed. Fernie stretched
her arms overhead, preoccupied with thoughts of the coming introduction.
“Nellie,” she said. “What
sort of man is Mr. Ward?” for she knew that Nellie knew all the goings-on in the household.
Nellie looked down at her
young charge and said with a comforting pat, “Now don’t you worry, Miss Fernie.
I think you’ll find him delightful! And according to Mrs. Ward, you have met before when you were just a
babe; for the families have been friends these ten years since.”
Papa had made mention of his
friend who lived in London, but she did not know him. Nellie continued, “He is
very jolly. Your mother and father and Master William were very entertained by
his stories of his travels.”
“Travels? I thought he was a doctor in London,” Fernie
queried.
“Oh, that he is! But he wanted to be a sailor when he was
growing up,” she said in a confidential tone.
“But his own father was a doctor and desired that his son be one as well.
He put Mr. Ward on a ship and sent him off to Jamaica when he was but thirteen
years old—I reckon to cure him of that idea! The ocean did not agree with him,
but that is when he became interested in the plants like your father—well,
plants and bugs. However, Mrs. Ward
does not seem to be as jolly about
the bugs.” Nellie laughed at her own
joke. “Now turn around and let me see you!”
Fernie turned. Nellie smiled
at her and said, “Well, now! What a
genteel sort of young lady you are when you are not out mousin’ about the
countryside!”
Fernie laughed and hugged
Nellie. “Thank you, Nellie!” She knew just what to say to put Fernie at
ease. It was their little joke about what Mama said to her about “scurrying” after
more than one muddy expedition. Papa had remarked, “Mice scurry, Fernie Girl. Botanists explore.”
She was ready and Nellie
walked with her down the stairs. On the way, Nellie said, “The ladies are in
the drawing room and the gentlemen are in the library. We’ll say a quick
pleased-to-meet-you to Mrs. Ward, get your cuppa tea, and then we shall go
directly to the library.”
Again, Fernie was grateful to
Nellie; for she knew that Nellie would steer her in to the drawing room and
back out again in a matter of time in which Mama would have no time to object.
They came to the doorway and Fernie looked at Mama and Mrs. Ward seated at a
table having tea. How elegant they both looked! Mama looked up and smiled at
Fernie with approval. She turned to Mrs. Ward and said, “Mrs. Ward, this is our
eldest daughter, Fanny.” Nellie gave
Fernie a little nudge and Fernie walked to the table and greeted them both with
a curtsy. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ward.”
Mrs. Ward smiled warmly at
her and said, “Why how you have grown, Miss Fanny! And what a fine young lady you are.”
Fernie blushed. Nellie had
stayed at the door and cocked her ear to the side. “Excuse me, Mrs. FitzWilliam.
I hear Mr. FitzWilliam calling for Miss Fanny.”
Mama’s eyes narrowed. That Nellie had the hearing of a dog! For she had not heard Frederick calling for
Fanny at all. But she turned to Fernie and said, “I will have Nellie bring your
tea to you. You may join your father and Mr. Ward, now.”
Fernie curtsied and said,
“Yes, Mama,” and then turned to Mrs. Ward and said, “It was very nice meeting
you,” and curtsied again before turning to go.
She smiled to herself and to
Nellie who was waiting at the door for her. She knew from Mama’s proud expression
that she had minded her manners properly and her appearance had been pleasing
and met with Mama’s approval. As she was leaving, Mama said to Mrs. Ward, “Our
Fanny is following very much in her father’s footsteps in her botanical
interests!”
She headed down the hallway
and could hear an unfamiliar voice coming from her father’s study which she
surmised to be that of Mr. Ward’s. Then she heard her father laugh, but not her
brother. She suspected that he had made his escape to his room with an excuse
that would appease Papa. She knocked at the door and waited to be invited in.
“Here she is!” exclaimed Mr. Ward and smiled at her. “Come in, come in!” Papa
said, motioning her in to the room.
Fernie curtsied and then joined
her father on the divan. Nellie entered
and did a quick delivery of tea and exited and closed the door behind her.
“Well, now,” began Mr.
Ward. “I understand you are a botanist
like your father.”
Fernie smiled. Papa said, “Now
Fernie, don’t let this doctor fool you into thinking he knows nothing of
botany. For he spends most mornings in the study of not only plants, but also
insects!” He turned to Mr. Ward and declared
proudly, “But I’ll wager no one else knows more about Pteridophyta than my Fernie Girl!”
Mr. Ward raised
an eyebrow, “Indeed?”
Papa turned to
Fernie, “Tell Mr. Ward of our conversation when it was snowing and you could
not go out of doors.”
Fernie felt
shy. She had been jesting with Papa, but now he was encouraging her to recount
it. “You were saying . . . ” he began.
“I was saying
that it was a pity that we could not grow ferns indoors so that we might enjoy
them in the house as well as out in
Nature, especially on such days.” She
expected Mr. Ward to laugh, but he did not. He looked at Papa with a mixture of
surprise and wonder. “Did you tell her of my experiments?”
Papa shook his
head and said, “I did not. That is yours to tell when you are ready.”
Mr. Ward looked
at Fernie. “You may think that this idea
is a silly notion or that others may not take it seriously?”
Fernie felt
self-conscious and nodded. “I say,” said Mr. Ward, “If you have an idea, it can
be made possible. For, as improbably as it may seem, everything you see in this
world began as somebody’s idea. Why, this empty glass was somebody’s idea at
one time!” He held up his glass and
handed it to Papa and they both laughed. As Papa took the glass and refilled
it, he continued. “Indeed, there was a time when only a few years ago, there
was no such thing as a match to light a fire or a pipe! You are too young to
remember that ember tongs were used to hold a hot coal in which to light
something. They are most inconvenient and impractical in some respects. There
were also tapers, but these both require a fire that is already made which is
convenient indoors, but confoundable when out of doors! A flint striker is more portable, but still
requires more time and effort. But then somebody,” he paused and struck a match
for effect, “had the idea that it would be advantageous to be able to light a
candle or a pipe without an ember tong or
flint striker and so here we have
matches!”
He lit his
pipe. “We can thank Monsieur Jean
Chancel for his invention!” His eyes sparkled as he leaned toward her, saying
intently, “If you can have such an idea about your ferns, dear girl, you can
make it possible.”
Nellie had been
right in her assessment of Mr. Ward. Fernie could perceive why he and Papa were
friends and she was glad. He was
jolly and she was delighted to have made his acquaintance. It would be just a
bit of time before Mr. Ward was to reveal the invention of his famous case that
did, indeed, grow ferns. However, it was inspired by his interest in a Sphinx
moth “cocoon” and not ferns. Ferns,
it would turn out, were a very happy accident that would go on to inspire the
import of plants from around the world! Tea plants made their way from one
region of India to Ceylon, bananas came all the way from China to the tropics,
and rubber trees would make their journey to far-off places. Indeed, it is much
thanks to Mr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward for his Wardian cases, that we have such a
world that we can house tropical plants indoors; including many species of ferns.
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| Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward |
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