CHAPTER X

.

Marion’s wedding-day was near at hand. Mrs. Grant, her cousin, who lived in Norfolk Square, had very kindly offered to have the wedding from her house, and this arrangement was the most convenient for everybody concerned. It had been at first intended that she should be married from her own home in Northamptonshire, but there would have been such a difficulty in putting up all the wedding guests, and Dr. Thomas’s house was already a very full one. So when Mrs. Grant offered the loan of her house for the occasion it was thankfully accepted.

Marion was glad to be in London for a week or two beforehand as she was so busy with her _trousseau_, and it made the shopping and trying on of dresses so much more easy. Her mother came up to town to stay in Norfolk Square for a fortnight before the wedding to help her with her purchases. The rest of the family were coming up for the wedding on the day and were going back to the country as soon as it was over.

Marion was disappointed at not being married from her own home, but she saw plainly that the present arrangement would save her mother a great deal of fatigue and inconvenience, and as Mrs. Thomas was not at all strong now, that was a great point gained. Anybody who has experienced the difficulties of making ready for a party, added to the planning and contriving necessary to the disposal of guests in an already over-full house, will heartily appreciate the benefits of Mrs. Grant’s plan.

Jane wrote to Mrs. Grant, whom she knew very well, and offered help for the wedding breakfast. As the cook in Norfolk Square had not been in her place very long and was rather inexperienced, Mrs. Grant was very glad to agree to Jane’s suggestion. The wedding was to be on a Saturday. Fortunately the day before was a free day for Jane, and so she would be able to devote it to making ready for the wedding.

There was to be a sit-down breakfast in the old-fashioned style, for the guests were limited to the relations and very old friends of the bride and bridegroom, and as several of these would be coming up from the country for the day, they would be glad of a substantial repast. The bride was to be married in a travelling dress, and was only to have one bridesmaid—her sister Lily.

As the weather was already crisp and cold this was a very sensible plan, for nothing is more unbecoming than the utterly unseasonable attire in which brides and bridesmaids are sometimes seen shivering. Fortunately Marion was not to go straight to a very hot climate, as Mr. Scott had work at Ootacamund for the next year. She received many delightful presents. A very useful one from one of her pupils was a cookery-book for Anglo-Indians, which she treasured very much, as she knew how very useful it would be to her in her new home.

Mrs. Holden gave her several presents, amongst which was some very beautiful lace which Marion had made up on a white silk dinner dress.

The enterprising Jane made the wedding-cake with Ada’s help. She had to buy a special tin to bake it in as she had not one big enough. It was cooked with the greatest care in the gas oven in which Marion had prepared so many meals in the days of their joint housekeeping.

The preparations took some days, for Jane had not very much time just then. She prepared half the fruit one evening and half the next. On the next afternoon she got home early, made the cake, and got it into the oven by six o’clock, and had it baked before they went to bed. The next evening she put on the almond icing and the plain royal icing, and on the next she ornamented it. It was allowed two or three days to set quite firm, and then the cake was wrapped in wadding, packed in a box and taken over to Norfolk Square in a cab, where it was kept under a glass case until the wedding. Our readers must have the recipe of this wonderful cake in case they may wish to emulate Jane’s industry for the benefit of their friends. Mrs. Oldham sent up a special box of eggs for its concoction.

MARION’S WEDDING CAKE.

_Ingredients._—Two pounds of Vienna flour, one pound of French plums, one pound of sultanas, one pound of currants, one pound of citron peel, one and three-quarter pounds of fresh butter, one and a half pounds of castor sugar, ten eggs, one pound of sweet almonds, and vanilla essence.

_For the Almond Icing._—Two pounds of ground almonds, three pounds of castor sugar, almond flavouring, enough beaten egg to bind.

_Royal Icing._—Three pounds of icing sugar, whites of egg to mix, lemon juice.

_Method._—Rub the flour through a hair sieve, stone the French plums and chop them finely, wash and dry the currants, and pick and flour the sultanas; cut up the peel, sift the sugar, blanch and chop the almonds. Beat the butter to a cream, and then add the sugar and work together until very light; add the eggs one by one, flour the fruit well, and stir it in gradually, the almonds also: lastly, stir in the flour, the essence, and the brandy. Line a tin with paper that has been brushed with clarified butter; pour in the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven.

_Almond Icing._—Mix the ground almonds and castor sugar together and then work in enough beaten white of egg to bind; knead and roll out, lay over the cake and put near the fire to dry.

_Royal Icing._—Rub the icing sugar through a sieve and work in with a wooden spoon enough white of egg to make the icing of the right consistency to spread over the cake; add a little lemon juice. Dry the icing in a cool oven, taking care it does not colour. Ornament the cake the next day, using royal icing mixed rather more stiffly than that which was spread over first. Put it on with a forcer.

* * * * *

Jane declared that she only breathed freely when she had deposited the cake in Mrs. Grant’s house, and saw it waiting for the wedding under a large glass globe!

Here we have the menu for the wedding breakfast.

MENU DU DÉJEUNER.

Ox-tail Soup. Oyster Patties. Glazed Pheasants. Pigeon Pie. Tongue. Pistachio Cream. Claret Jelly. Fruits. Coffee.

The cook at Norfolk Square and Jane both worked hard all the day before and everything turned out very well. To ensure the pheasants and the tongue being well glazed and looking nice, Jane made some good glaze and brought it with her. This she did by making a pint of good beef-tea and boiling it rapidly down to a thick syrup. The pheasants and the tongue had each two coats brushed on and were then suitably ornamented, the tongue with a pretty design in creamed butter put on with a forcer and slices of notched cucumber laid round the dish. The tongue was a smoked one and was soaked for twenty-four hours before being cooked. Jane made all the puff pastry for the patties and the pigeon pie; the cook made the soup, cooked the pheasants and the tongue and prepared the inside of the pie under her supervision. She also prepared the moulds for the creams and jellies. Here are the recipes for the soup, patties, creams, and jellies. The quantity made consisted of two quarts of soup, two dozen patties, two creams (quart moulds), two jellies (ditto), and two pies.

OX-TAIL SOUP.

_Ingredients._—One ox-tail, one carrot, one turnip, two onions, two sticks of celery, two tomatoes, four mushrooms, bay-leaf, blade of mace, a bunch of herbs, twelve peppercorns, two teaspoonfuls of salt, two quarts of stock, two ounces of butter, three ounces of brown thickening.

_Method._—Cut the ox-tail into joints and blanch it. Fry it well in the butter, add the vegetables washed and sliced, the mace, herbs, salt, and the stock, and simmer four hours. Strain and pick out the pieces of meat; take off the fat and return to the saucepan. Thicken with three ounces of brown thickening. Put in the pieces of ox-tail and the soup is ready.

PUFF PASTRY.

_Ingredients._—Two pounds of Vienna flour, two pounds of butter, lemon juice, water to mix, two yolks of eggs.

_Method._—Rub the flour through a hair sieve; wash the butter and rub one-third into the flour. Turn this on to the paste-board and make a well in the middle. Beat the yolks of two eggs with a gill of water and a little lemon juice and mix into the flour, adding more water if necessary until you have a flexible dough. Roll out to a strip, shape the butter to a third the size of the dough and lay it on; fold the dough over and roll out; repeat this and put it away to cool. Roll out again and repeat this four times. Roll out, cut as required, and use. For patties, cut into rounds with a cutter about the size of a wine-glass and mark it at the top with a smaller cutter. Bake in a very hot oven a pale golden brown, and when baked lift off the lid and scoop out the inside; fill with the required mixture and put on the lid again.

_Mixture for Oyster Patties._—Strain the liquor from two dozen oysters and put it to boil for ten minutes with a blade of mace, three peppercorns, a little lemon rind, and some salt; strain and mix with a gill of cream. Work half an ounce of butter with as much cornflour as it will take up, stir it into the liquor and boil up over the fire; cut the oysters in small pieces, put them into the sauce and heat gently for a few minutes without letting it boil again.

PISTACHIO CREAM.

_Ingredients._—One pint of double cream, the whites of two fresh eggs, four ounces of castor sugar, a quarter of a pound of pistachios (chopped and blanched), one ounce of leaf gelatine, two tablespoonfuls of water, a half-pint packet of lemon jelly.

_Method._—Take a plain round cake-mould that will hold a quart, and line the sides of it with lemon jelly. Sprinkle the bottom over with chopped pistachio, using a little melted jelly to set it. Whip a pint of double cream to a stiff froth, and mix it lightly with the stiffly beaten whites of two fresh eggs and the castor sugar (sifted). Pound the pistachios in a mortar, and add the sweetened cream to this. Have ready the gelatine, and when it is lukewarm stir it quickly into the cream. Pour at once into the prepared mould.

Before the wedding-day, Jane, Ada, and Marion had a little tea-party at “The Rowans,” at which it must be confessed they talked a great deal and ate very little.

“Well, we have had a very happy year at all events,” said Ada, “and if _circumstances_ had not upset our previous arrangements, I should have been quite content to go on in the same way for a long time.”

“As _circumstances_, named Tom Scott and Jack Redfern, intervened, our housekeeping is at an end,” said Jane decisively. “I think I am the one to whom all apologies should be made. Of course, with you two gone, I could not bear starting the same sort of thing again with anyone else, but it has certainly been a most successful experiment. Has your dress come home yet, Marion?”

“Yes; and fits very well.”

“It is the prettiest dress you can imagine,” said Jane to Ada. “A grey Sicilienne skirt, with a grey glacé silk bodice, and cherry-coloured velvet at the throat and waist. A dear little cherry-coloured toque to wear with it, and a smart grey velvet cape with a delicate design in steel on it. I can’t help talking like a fashion plate when I think of it! Our dresses are sent back at last, and there is nothing that needs alteration.”

Jane and Ada were to wear their new winter dresses of green cashmere and brown velvet; big brown “picture” hats with rowans under the brim. Marion’s wedding-day dawned bright and sunny. The wedding was to be at two o’clock.

Jane had arranged to go over to Norfolk Square early to superintend the laying of the breakfast before the party went to church. The table was decorated with white flowers in specimen vases. Azaleas, chrysanthemums, and orange-blossoms, and sprigs of rowan-berries were laid on the pretty white satin table-centre which Ada had worked for her friend.

And now they are off to church.

Marion makes a charmingly pretty but very nervous bride. Everybody is bright and cheerful and there are no tears. Soon they come back and sit down to the breakfast, prepared with so much care. And now the time has come for us to bid farewell to our young housekeepers, whose plans and contrivances our readers have followed for so long. If their example will induce any to try the experiment for themselves, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Redfern, and Miss Jane Orlingbury will feel that they have not worked in vain.

[THE END.]

[Illustration]

LETTERS FROM A LAWYER.

## PART XI.

The Temple.

MY DEAR DOROTHY,—As you are one of the members of the committee for the bazaar in aid of the Nursing Home for Old People, I may be able to give you a few useful hints to avoid certain illegalities which beset the path of the unwary promoters of such charitable entertainments.

The great feature of a big bazaar should consist in having as many side shows as possible, so that people may be able, by the expenditure of a shilling or two, to escape from the importunities of the stall-holders into a concert-room, waxwork show, or other attraction, and not be driven out of the bazaar altogether.

If you want to have anything in the nature of a farce, operetta or comedietta played in the building, you ought to inquire if the hall which you are going to hire for the bazaar has a licence for stage-plays. If it has not such a licence, the performers and those responsible for the entertainment will render themselves liable to a fine, unless the proper licence is secured.

Fish-ponds, bran-pies, lucky tubs, and similar contrivances, are doubtless, strictly speaking, illegal, but are always tolerated at bazaars, where people do not expect to get the value of their money; but it is advisable to draw the line at roulette tables or anything in the nature of a real gamble or a lottery.

On the last day of the bazaar, it is often the custom to sell off the undisposed-of stock of the stalls by auction. The person who holds the auction should be a person having an auctioneer’s licence to sell by auction, otherwise trouble may ensue, as the auctioneers have recently made a determined stand against unqualified persons acting as auctioneers.

I think that these are the principal errors into which people who get up bazaars are liable to fall; but perhaps I ought to enlarge a little more upon stage-plays and the necessity for having a licence for their performance.

It is almost impossible to give any kind of a variety concert without unwittingly performing what is the legal equivalent of a stage-play; any song with dramatic action is a stage-play, and so are duologues and monologues, as distinguished from recitations.

Some people have an idea that so long as they do not take any money at the doors, they are quite safe and within the law in giving a performance in the cause of charity, but such is not the case. When money or other reward is taken or charged, directly or indirectly, or when the purchase of any article is made a condition for admission, the performers and the owner or occupier of the building render themselves liable to a fine.

This may sound very alarming, and would, no doubt, considerably startle those good ladies who lend their houses for performances for charitable objects in the season; but every time they do so, and anything in the nature of a stage-play is performed, they may be prosecuted and fined, although personally they take no benefit from such performances. The fact that they frequently do so with impunity does not affect the law on the matter, which is perfectly clear. Why it has not been altered before now, I am unable to say; hardly a day passes without its being broken, exemplifying the old proverb that “one man may steal a horse from a stable, and another may not look over the hedge.”

I know of a case where a gentleman who had turned part of his house into the Theatre Royal back drawing-room, and who permitted a performance of a play to be given on two occasions, to which admission was by ticket only, which could be obtained beforehand on payment of a fixed sum, in aid of the funds of a charity, was convicted and fined under the Act. The gentleman appealed against the conviction, but without success; the conviction was confirmed by the Court of the Queen’s Bench. So be warned, my dear Dorothy, and do not allow your friends to disregard my advice, and be assured that it is much better to avoid these risky entertainments altogether.

Your affectionate cousin, BOB BRIEFLESS.

OUR LILY GARDEN.

PRACTICAL AIDS TO THE CULTURE OF LILIES.

BY CHARLES PETERS.

[Illustration: _Lilium Tigrinum_ (var. _Fortunei_).]

We will conclude our remarks on the noble family of lilies by some notes and tables, which will be found of great value to those who wish to cultivate these beautiful flowers.

We told you in the first part of this book that we kept a note-book—a kind of diary—in which we kept a record of our work among the lilies. We advise everyone who intends to grow these plants to follow our example, and get a large manuscript book to put down the “proceedings” of her lilies. The following points should be noted. (1.) The name of the species and variety. (2.) The name of the person from whom you obtained the bulb. (3.) The day on which the bulb was planted, with a note as to the condition of the weather at the time. (4.) The circumference of the bulb, and a brief description of it, stating whether the flower-spike had begun to grow, or the new roots had appeared, or if any scales were mouldy or diseased. (5.) The soil in which the lily was planted. (6.) The date of the appearance of the shoot. (7.) The date of flowering. (8.) A brief description of the full-grown plant and its individual members. (9.) The condition of the bulb when exhumed.

Here is an example of the record of a bulb of _L. Auratum_.

“_Lilium Auratum_, var. _Platyphyllum_, bought from Mr. ——. Potted on the 3rd of November, 1897; a warm, dry day. Bulb seven inches in circumference; new roots just appearing. A sound, heavy bulb. One mouldy scale removed. Washed in lime-water; sprinkled with charcoal and potted in an eight-inch pot in a mixture of fine peat (one part), rich leaf-mould (two parts), a large handful of sand and a few small lumps of clay. Shoot appeared March 17th, 1898; grew rapidly. No disease. Flowered September 4th, 1898; five blossoms, all perfect, largest eleven and a half inches across. No rain when in flower. Lasted in blossom till September 20th, 1898. Bulb when exhumed quite healthy, showing two crowns nine and a quarter inches in diameter. Exhumed and replanted October 21st, 1898.”

If you have a record like this of every lily, you possess a most valuable book on the culture of lilies; and, as we said at first, the cultivation of these plants is little understood.

A thoroughly authentic, practical record will help you more to become proficient in the art of lily-growing than any amount of impracticable theory.

Now some words to those who are growing lilies in pots. As we have seen, most species grow well in pots. All do well except the following, which are unsuitable for pot culture. The reason why they are suitable is also given.

_L. Cordifolium_ (too straggling).

All the _Isolirions_, because they are not sufficiently ornamental for pot culture.

_L. Humboldti._ This lily does not do well in pots; why we do not know.

_L. Martagon_, _L. Pomponium_, _L. Pyrenaicum_, _L. Chalcedonicum_, _L. Monodelphum_, _L. Testaceum_.

The last six lilies are unsuitable for pot culture because they require to become established before they will condescend to flower.

Most lilies grown in pots can be kept in the open air or in a room, or anywhere you please, but the following require protection of some sort:—

Half-hardy species. These should not be put out in frosty weather; otherwise they may be grown out of doors. If you have planted them in the ground at a sufficient depth, they will stand all but a very severe winter. _L. Giganteum_, _L. Cordifolium_, _L. Formosanum_, _L. Wallichianum_, _L. Washingtonianum_, _L. Catesbæi_, _L. Polyphyllum_, _L. Roseum_, _L. Hookeri_, _L. Oxypetalum_, _L. Alexandræ_.

The following usually need a greenhouse to grow them well:—_L. Philippinense_, _L. Neilgherrense_, _L. Nepaulense_, _L. Lowi_.

Would you like to have lilies in pots in your room? You can have them even if you do not possess a greenhouse. You can grow the lilies in the ground and transfer them to pots just before they begin to flower. For this purpose plant the bulbs in the open ground in rather lighter soil than you would if the lilies were to flower in the open. Place the bulbs about four inches deep. You need not remove the plant until the flower-buds are nearly fully developed. Then take up the lily with the surrounding earth, place it in a big pot, drench it with water, and leave it in a cool, shady place for three days. Then give it a good dose of liquid manure. You may then take it into your room, and it will flower as though nothing had troubled the tranquillity of its existence.

Not all lilies are suitable for this treatment; only those species which will grow in light soils should be used for this purpose. _L. Longiflorum_, _L. Auratum_, _L. Speciosum_, and _L. Rubellum_ are most suitable for this form of culture.

About the beginning of November all your lilies in pots will have flowered and died down. What are you to do with them now?

Shake the bulbs out of the pots; examine them; remove any off-shoots; do _not_ cut off the roots; wash them in lime-water and re-pot without delay.

Lilies do not rest during the winter. The pots should be kept in a place which is not too wet. The pots must not be kept too dry, but an occasional watering should be administered.

We append a list of the lilies, giving the exact composition of the soil in which we have grown them best, both in the open air and in pots. An asterisk is affixed to the most desirable species.

Grown in a mixture of one part peat, two parts leaf-mould, and a good sprinkling of sand:

*1. _L. Longiflorum._ 2. _L. Formosanum._ *3. _L. Auratum._ *4. _L. Speciosum._ *5. _L. Krameri._ 6. _L. Rubellum._ 7. _L. Henryi._ 8. _L. Medeoloides._

Grown in a mixture of equal parts of peat and leaf-mould, with plenty of sand:

*9. _L. Leichtlini._ 10. _L. Maximowiczi._ 11. _L. Catesbæi._ 12. _L. Wallacei._ *13. _L. Canadense._ *14. _L. Parvum._ *15. _L. Maritimum._ *16. _L. Superbum._ *17. _L. Roezlii._ *18. _L. Pardalinum._ 19. _L. Californicum._

Grown in equal parts of rich loam and leaf-mould, enriched with the contents of an old hot-bed, but with no peat and very little sand:

*20. _L. Candidum._ 21. _L. Washingtonianum._ *22. _L. Humboldti._ *23. _L. Pomponium._ *24. _L. Martagon._ *25. _L. Pyrenaicum._ 26. _L. Callosum._ 27. _L. Carniolicum._ *28. _L. Chalcedonicum._ *29. _L. Monodelphum._

Grown in soil like the last, but with a fair admixture of peat:

*30. _L. Giganteum._ 31. _L. Cordifolium._ *32. _L. Wallichianum._ *33. _L. Parryi._ *34. _L. Japonicum Odorum._ *35. _L. Brownii._ *36. _L. Tigrinum._ 37. _L. Bulbiferum._ *38. _L. Batmanniæ._ 39. _L. Elegans._ *40. _L. Croceum._ 41. _L. Davuricum._ *42. _L. Columbianum._ 43. _L. Tenuifolium._ 44. _L. Concolor._ 45. _L. Hansoni._

The following species have never been grown by us:—

*46. _L. Philippinense._ *47. _L. Neilgherrense._ *48. _L. Nepaulense._ *49. _L. Lowi._ *50. _L. Polyphyllum._ 51. _L. Davidii._ 52. _L. Oxypetalum._ 53. _L. Roseum._ 54. _L. Hookeri._ 55. _L. Avenaceum._

During the greater part of the year you can have lilies in flower in your garden. If you possess a greenhouse you can have lilies in flower throughout the year.

[Illustration: ASPIRATION.]

Naturally the lilies flower in the open ground from April till October. If you wish to have lilies in your garden in November you can do so, but mind you, if the weather is unfavourable the blossoms will not be worth much.

The lilies which will flower in the open ground in November are _L. Speciosum_ and _L. Auratum_. For very late flowering the bulbs should be planted in May. Last Lord Mayor’s day we gathered a small bunch of _L. Speciosum_, and one very fair example of _L. Auratum_. The tiger lilies were also in blossom at that date.

But this late crop of lilies is worth very little; and, unless you have a greenhouse, we advise you to be contented with six months of lily flowers.

In a greenhouse it is easy to have lilies throughout the year. _L. Longiflorum_ will flower from April to January, and _L. Speciosum_ will flower from August to February if the bulbs are potted at intervals, and _very_ gently forced when necessary. In the month of March you can have _L. Rubellum_ in flower.

Doubtless some of our readers will wish to grow lilies for show purposes. Indeed, for this purpose few flowers are more satisfactory, for lilies are extremely showy, they last very well in flower, and are by no means impatient of removal.

As a matter of fact, growing lilies for show purposes can be conducted on two separate systems; either you can grow show plants or show flowers.

For the former purpose the stem, the leaves, the shape of the inflorescence, and the number, shape, size and colour of the blossoms must be above the average. For “show flowers” all your attention must be concentrated upon one single blossom.

For growing show plants choose a very big bulb. In our former articles we warned you against these mammoth bulbs, because they are so often unsatisfactory. But for show plants you must choose these big bulbs; but do not imagine that from every “mammoth bulb” you will get a fine spike. You will rarely get more than one really excellent plant out of six bulbs.

For prize plants pot the bulbs in large pots and keep them in a cold, dark place for a fortnight. When the shoots appear, grow them on as quickly as you can, but give no artificial heat. Keep the plants in a place where they are not likely to be injured by the wind, and where there is plenty of shade. As the flowering time arrives give plenty of liquid manure.

Of all manures, “Ichthumic guano” is the most satisfactory for show lilies.

You must turn your pots round every day, so as to keep the stems straight. Lilies always bend towards the sun, and unless the pots are carefully turned round every day the stems become twisted or bowed.

For growing prize blossoms choose a small bulb. Grow it as you did for a prize plant, but when the buds begin to turn colour, remove every one except one—the finest. Cut the flower with as long a stem as possible, and send it to the exhibition while it is opening, and before the pollen has become free.

Grow your show plants as carefully as you will, you will often find that many uncared-for plants in the garden beat the pampered one in the form and delicacy of their blossoms!

Like all other flowers, the lilies possess many more names than they desire, and in many cases even the slightest variation from the type has been labelled with a new name. You must therefore beware of paying high prices for cheap lilies with a new name—a fate which will damp the ardour of most amateurs.

Our work among the lilies is done. If our admiration for them has been great, it has never been excessive. The lilies are the loveliest of all flowers, and the study of them is wrought with delight.

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

“UPS AND DOWNS.”

A TRUE STORY OF NEW YORK LIFE.

BY N. O. LORIMER.

##