Various

“ Ivor, who happened to be in rear of them both, made a silencing gesture, but Roy was much too eager to attend, or to read his meaning.
"Only think, ma'am. Do but hear! All of us are ordered off from Fontainebleau to Verdun. Verdun! Why, that is where Mademoiselle de St. Roques lives. We shall see her again. And I shall like that, though I don't like going farther away from England. That is horrid. Everybody is saying what a shame it is! Must we go, do you think, Den? Verdun is a fortified town, they say, and we are to be in stricter keeping, all of us prisoners." ”

“ But, of course, Peggy must be Portia."
"Peggy shall be Portia, and I'll be the Jew, and snarl at her across the court," said Rob, with an assurance which was not at all appreciated by his companions.
"I've rather a fancy to try Shylock myself," Max declared. "Oswald would make a capital Bassanio, and you could manage Antonio all right if you tried, for he has not so much to do. Let me see: Peggy—Portia; Esther—Nerissa; Mellicent—Jessica (she's so like a Jewess, you see!) ; you and Oswald—Bassanio and Antonio; Shylock—my noble self. Father and mother to help out with the smaller characters. ”

“ But I daresay it's only that she's a girl, and so she can't help it. When I get back, I mean to do my very best never to say one single word that can make her cry. Because I'm ever so much the strongest, and I'm very nearly a man now. ”

“ We shall have to fasten the stupid thing up somehow or other!" He peered through the opening as he spoke and his face changed. "It's not feathers—it's horsehair! Here's a find! What about that wig for Shylock?"
Esther was dubious.
"It would take a great deal of horsehair to make a wig. It would spoil the cushion if the horsehair were taken away; it would spoil the sofa if the cushion were small; it would spoil the room if the sofa——"
Peggy interrupted with a shriek of laughter. ”

“ The life history of the lily is one of perpetual growth. The lily never lies dormant. [1] In the severest frost, or in periods of great drought, this plant is ever developing. As soon as the flower-stem has died down, the bulb begins to form fresh roots and continues to do so until the time comes round again for it to send up its flower spikes. Lilium Candidum throws up a winter crop of leaves during the autumn, but the other lilies perform all their winter labours below ground. ”

“ When in flower the branches spread rigidly, but as the seed ripens the leaves begin to wither and drop off, the branches curl inward, and the plant becomes coiled up so as to resemble a small ball. In this state it is loosened from the soil and is drifted about with the sand over the arid plains. Should rain fall, or should it be blown into the water, the branches expand, the pods open, the seeds fall out, and it is a remarkable and newly-discovered fact that in the short space of twenty hours the seeds germinate and root. The plant will retain its susceptibility for years. ”

“ Many, many thanks, my dear Marion, for your letter. I have been waiting to profit by your instructions before writing to you, and now I am so busy I can only write a few lines. The new cook is an amiable girl, and I am getting on famously—thanks to you. Mrs. Holden is here, and I am enjoying her visit very much. She is so kind and helpful. You are quite right; it is ridiculous to be afraid of one's own cook, and I now enter the kitchen with an easy mind. Also, my cooking has improved so much, that I quite enjoy eating my own pastry, which I thought would for ever be an impossibility. ”

“ The opening of the flower-buds is the most anxious but also the most exciting period in the life of the lily. When the buds have begun to change colour a good drenching of the roots with very weak liquid manure will materially help to develop the flowers. Do not give liquid manure before this time, and never give more than two doses to any plant.
The green fly or aphis is a very exasperating foe. It does not eat holes in the leaves, but lives upon the upper leaves and buds, usually upon their under surface. Its presence causes the buds to develop irregularly. ”

“ Cook makes the most abominable pastry and cannot roast at all; our poor little joints of meat are shrivelled up and hard, so she has really no need to give herself such airs. With regard to the roasting I really am most perplexed, and hope you will be able to advise me. I have by me a standard cookery book, which assures me most positively that a joint should be put in a hot oven to make a casing to keep in the juices, and then it is to be cooked more slowly. ”

“ Though cold does not appreciably injure lily-bulbs, it is far otherwise with wet. As we have said before, lilies love rain when the stems are growing, but when the bulbs are making root in winter they do not like much moisture. If the soil is perfectly well drained, we much doubt whether any quantity of rain would cause the bulbs to rot. But in soils where stagnant water can lie about the bulbs, the result of a wet winter is often disastrous.
"Our soil is a stiff clayey loam, but we wish to have lilies. What can we do to render our ground a fit place wherein to grow them?" ”

“ Make your designs simple, and you mustn't attempt foreshortening (that is, drawing in perspective) , as you cannot render such an effect in a stencil. A flat treatment is necessary, as though the plant you take to found your design upon were pressed between blotting-paper, like a dried specimen. You must not attempt to be too natural. An ornamental treatment is more effective, and you want to develop the decorative features in the plant you take, for you must not think of drawing a flower or plant so much as making a design based upon the particular plant. ”

“ As for Peggy, she's a witch, and could make up costumes on a desert island if she were put to it! But I don't know what is going to happen to my poor, dear boy's face. Oswald, what is he doing? Isn't he coming to have some lemonade and cake?" asked Mrs. Asplin anxiously. And Oswald chuckled in a heartless fashion.
"Pride must abide. He would be Shylock whether we liked it or not, so let him take the consequences. He is fighting it out with cold cream in the bath-room, and some of the horsehair sticks like fun. I'll go up and tell him we have eaten all the cake. ”

“ The rule you quote from your cookery book is quite correct for large joints, but it does not do for small ones. If you put a big joint into a hot oven, it crisps the outside nicely, but a small joint put into the same temperature will soon become hard right through. Put small joints in a gentle oven and cook them slowly, basting often. Shortly before you serve it, let the oven get hot or else finish it before the fire, so that it may brown. Of course, the oven must not be too slow or the meat will not cook at all. ”

“ Roy showed signs of being impressed. He knew Denham to be so gallant a soldier that words of this sort coming from him had especial weight. Neither spoke again directly. Roy walked fast, doing his best as usual to match Ivor's long stride, though compelled now and then to make a droll little extra step, if he would not be left behind. His face had taken a look of supreme seriousness.
"Yes, of course," he said, at length. "I see. I suppose that's what we men have to do. I mean—we have to try not to make women unhappy. I used to set Molly off crying sometimes. ”

“ Colonel Baron replied cheerfully. "You are not a détenu, Roy, and there is no reason why any difficulty should be made. I must apply at once for a passport." Colonel Baron's mind misgave him as he spoke, for he had heard lately of more than one instance in which such an application for a passport had proved a failure. Although English ladies and boys under eighteen were not avowedly prisoners, yet every possible hindrance was beginning to be placed in the way of the return of anyone to England. This made him only the more desirous not to put off any longer getting Roy across the Channel. ”

“ She is only fourteen, and she knew absolutely nothing when she came to us; by dint of great exertions, I am gradually teaching her to dish up our dinners and to wait at table. She can also turn out a room (with assistance) and wash up, but as she has learnt this under me, it would be odd if I felt afraid of her. If I had a real cook and housemaid like you, I might perhaps tremble in my shoes, but really I think there is no need. I am glad you find the stewing jar useful. If your cook cannot even roast a small joint of meat without spoiling it, she has nothing to be very conceited about. ”

“ A garden should be a sheet of beauty, not a herbarium in which curious and beautiful flowers grow singly, each named and numbered, and requiring a guide to point out the various objects of interest. No! A garden must be one harmonious blaze of beauty, and though, of course, individually beautiful objects are necessary to produce this result, a great deal depends upon the proper grouping of the various constituents.
A bed of mixed lilies, in which all kinds were grown together, would look simply ridiculous. ”

“ Very often a lily will produce more buds than it has strength to develop. Some of these superfluous buds will soon show signs of withering and should be at once removed.
It is well to remove every deformed or injured bud as soon as possible, for it gives the plant a better chance of developing the remainder.
When once the flowers have opened, the plant may be left alone till they wither. If possible, lilies should be placed in the shade whilst they are in blossom, as the flowers will then last for a longer time. ”

“ This is especially the case when the plants have been allowed to ripen their seed. Indeed, all lilies tend to dwindle when they are allowed to go to seed. One reason why L. Candidum is so much better when grown in neglected situations than any other lily is because it never produces seed in this country.
There are four methods by which lilies may be propagated; by seed; by bulblets, which are formed in the axils of the leaves of some species; by offshoots from the parent bulb, and by detached scales. Again the bulbs often split into two or more parts. ”

“ Most lilies appreciate manure if it is not too strong or moist. Manure which is likely to turn the earth sour is fatal to lilies. The remains of a hot-bed is the best possible kind of manure to give to lilies. Place a little of the manure below the bulb and a little above it, but do not let it come within two inches of the bulb. The bulbs will rot if manure is placed near them.
Some lilies like a chalky soil, others show distinct aversion to it. The swamp lilies and others which like peat object to lime in the soil. ”

“ If you are so anxious to have everything nice you will succeed in time, and if your mother-in-law is so kind and so fond of you, I am sure she will not pity her son too much, even if your cook does make one or two failures. ”

“ The chief thing that I remember is that my favourite sultana pudding was served about four times a week, with sauce; on the last point I was most particular.
I had always a great longing to go down in the kitchen and cook myself, but my father forbade this, saying that if I worried the cook she would probably give warning; and that, if in addition to my mother's illness and other present ills (of which I fear my housekeeping was one) we were left without a cook, he should not know what to do. ”

“ Violent exercises only do harm.
An Unlucky Girl.—You are indeed an unlucky girl and we deeply sympathise with you in your misfortune. If you can go to a good skin specialist we think that it would be worth your while to do so. The best thing for you to do is to tell your physician that you wish to see a specialist about any possible treatment different from what you have already tried. We suppose that it is hardly necessary to tell you to be sure to go to a respectable qualified specialist. There are some men in England who call themselves "skin specialists" who are unqualified. ”

“ The vast majority of seeds either never germinate, or, if they develop so far, die before they have formed a bulb of sufficient size to send up a flower spike. Not all lilies produce seeds in this country. ”

“ The object of having two plates is that you can obtain an impression in two or more colours. Thus in the butterfly design having stencilled the insects in the first colour you can put on the markings and web-background in much lighter colours. If the sprig is to be put in and you want it against the web-background, you stencil this latter in first, and when dry the sprigs upon it.
By cutting a design out of two plates you can get a much more elaborate design and scheme of colour. ”

“ If the lilies have done well, have not been diseased and have blossomed freely, leave them as they are. If, on the other hand, the plants have borne poor or deformed blossoms, or have become diseased, or, above all, if they have been getting poorer year by year, take up the bulbs, as soon as the flower stems have died down, and plant them elsewhere. ”

“ You might as well lean your head on a Bath brick. Max, you are a made man! You shall have a beautiful, crinkly black wig, and a beard to match. We will sew them to your turban, and fasten them with black elastic. It will never show, and I'll finish off the joins after you are dressed. You'll see!"
"You can do as you like! I'm in your hands!" said Max easily. And when the night of the reading arrived, and he was attired in wig and gown, Peggy seated him in a chair and tucked a towel under his chin with an air of business. ”

“ Sow the bulblets as you do the seeds. They usually germinate very quickly, and produce flowering bulbs within two years.
The commonest, quickest and best way to increase lilies is through the small bulbs which grow round the base of the parent. These may be removed when the bulbs are lifted and planted at once. They will flower in one or two years.
Before we leave the question of the cultivation of lilies, we will refer to two or three{181} constituents of the soil, the presence of which is by some authors described as imperative, by others as injurious. ”