"I knew you would not leave me," he whispered. "I--said--a woman would stay--with me, it was--you I meant. I--have wasted my life--God forgive me! You have forgiven, my dear--a faithful woman--has forgiven--I think--God--will forgive--too--I--am taking"--his voice almost failed--"my wasted life--with me--to be--to be"--a little whimsical smile stole over his face--"to be--filed--for--reference." L. G. MOBERLY. OUR LILY GARDEN. PRACTICAL AIDS TO THE CULTURE OF LILIES. BY CHARLES PETERS. [Illustration: _Lilium Speciosum._] For the last three months cut blossoms of _Lilium Speciosum_ have decorated our table in the centre of London, and have afforded our friends and us real delight, creating subject for discussion at the dinner-table such as we have never known in connection with any other cut flowers. Perhaps this has arisen from the fact that the floral decorations consisted of flowers of one botanical group only, making a truly consistent nosegay, and creating from its very uniqueness fit subject for special questionings and interest. Of course in the group there were several colours. The _Speciosum Album_ and the varieties of white, the _Speciosum Roseum_ with its varieties of lovely rose-colour, and finally the deep and rich _Speciosum Melpomone_. Nothing in the way of table decoration could be more æsthetic and cheerful-looking than an arrangement of such blossoms, in which we find real white mingled with a lovely purple red, and with nothing but the right gradations of colour between. In the days of old it was the custom to group flowers of every conceivable colour--reds, blues, pinks, yellow, and others; but now we know better, two colours or three being the most effective scheme for table or bouquet effect, and in all our experience we have never found any general appearance more pleasing than that of our group of _Lilium Speciosum_. One of the greatest testimonies to the value of these flowers is that the buds will develop and open into blossoms of their natural size while in water in a close room of a London square, and another reason for their value is that they last two or three weeks if attended to about every other day, that is, longer than any other cut flower of our cultivation. A month ago we took up to town a bunch of _Lilium Speciosum_ from our little country garden to garnish the dinner-table of a well-known doctor on the day of his golden wedding. There were, we were told, many other groups of flowers sent by friends for such an interesting occasion, but although many were from hot-houses, and some were valuable orchids, the group of _Lilium Speciosum_, so easy and so inexpensive to rear, had the place of honour, was admired the most, and lasted the longest number of days.