THE HAUTBOIS. 61 



setting. A year or two ago I was breakfasting 

 with a well-known and most courtly physician in 

 London, who is since dead. A dish of beautiful 

 Hautbois was on the table. We were all admiring. 

 " Yes," said our host, " they are now getting very 

 rare. Sometimes a patient says to me, ' May I 

 not have a little fruit ? ' ' Certainly not ! ' is my 

 answer. * Surely a few Strawberries ? ' Then, 

 that I may not seem a great curmudgeon, I say, 

 'Well, a few Strawberries, but be sure they are 

 Hautbois ; ' and I know they can't get them ! " To 

 ordinary Strawberries a Hautbois is what a Tea 

 Rose is to ordinary Roses ; it has an aroma all 

 its own, and unlike all others. 



In the flower garden the finest bed is one which 

 I have now had for the last three years. It is a 

 bed of Lilium auratum, with the dark Heliotrope 

 growing in between. I take up the Lily bulbs for 

 the winter, bring them on in heat, and then plant 

 them out. They are really beautiful, and each 

 year they seem more vigorous. Some have four 

 blossoms, some have six or eight, and one has 

 as many as ten. The strong perfume lies heavy 

 on that end of the garden, and I think this Lily 

 should never be brought inside the house. It is 

 curious how the blossoms vary; in some the golden 



