226 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
Then all the noisy children 
Were silent for a space ; 
But no one heard him speak a word, 
Though the smile grew on his face, 
Till they saw a halo pure and faint 
Bound the stranger’s head, like a pictured saint. 
In strides the stately Baron, 
To view the children's cheer. 
“ Who has the place by the Lady Grace? 
How came a beggar here ? ” 
Said the Lady Grace: “God pardon thee ! 
The little Chfist-child dines with me.” 
The baron staggers backward 
And smites upon his breast. 
Before him stands, with clasped hands, 
One more unbidden guest. 
- “ Hast thou come back here from the dead, 
Grace, my sister Grace?” he said. 
' ‘ They told you falsely, brother. 
Seven years ago to-day, 
With a father's blame and a blighted name, 
I left this castle gray : 
But at Christmas-time of every year 
I have stood outside, I have seen you here. 
“ My son comes always with me, 
Or else I could not come. 
He will ever be like a babe to me, 
For he is deaf and dumb. 
He slipped from sight when my head was bowed, 
And I saw him next in the youthful crowd. 
“ Among the happy children 
I left my smiling boy, 
For light and heat and enough to eat 
Are all he can enjoy; 
But I’ll take him now, I will go away. 
And will come no more on the Christmas Dav.” 
“ Nay, then,” replied the Baron, 
“Thou shalt not go again. 
Thy seven years of toil and tears 
Amid the scorn of men 
Are enough, in sooth, for a lifetime long; 
And we’ve all done wrong—we have all done 
wrong.” 
Then followed hearty greeting. 
Where people wept aud smiled: 
And the Lady Grace, with a warm embrace, 
Welcomed the silent child. 
But she wept that night on her mother’s breast 
That the Christ-child had not been her guest. 
“ Nay, grieve thee not, my daughter, 
The Christ of God has come ; 
But he chooses to speak through a woman weak 
And a child who is deaf and dumb, 
Aud ‘as ye have done,’ in the Book saith He, 
‘ To the least of mine, ye have done to me.’ ” 
— \ Selected. 
THE GLADIOLUS. 
[The following escay was read before the New York 
Horticultural Society by C. L. Allen, (Horticultural Ed. 
of the Cabinet) of Garden City, N. Y. As there tire so 
many inquiries as to the history and cultivation of this 
popular - flower, we publish it in full.] 
The Gladiolus belongs to the Nat. Ord: Iridacece, and 
is composed of nearly sixty species, that are, with but 
few exceptions, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The 
species are remarkable for ease of culture, grace of habit, 
beautiful forms of flowers aud intense coloring, ranging 
from the most vivid scarlet to pure white, from clear 
rose to pure yellow, and bright purple ; in many of the 
species the colors are happily and singularly blended. 
The habits of the species are as varied as their colors, 
some delicate and light, others strong and robust, with 
constitutions adapted to dny climate excepting the more 
frigid. Owing to the remarkable hybrids that have 
been produced, but few of the species are found under 
cultivation excepting in botanical collections. A few of 
them are, and should be, grown more extensively, 
among the number is G. communis. This species is 
found pretty generally distributed throughout the south 
of Europe; it consists of three varieties, white, rose, and 
purple, all perfectly hardy, of easy culture, and de¬ 
sirable on account of their early flowering. They are of 
dwarf habit, the flower spikes rarely exceed two feet in 
height. They should be planted in Autumn, any time 
from September until November, and need not be dis¬ 
turbed or re-planted for a number of years—not uuti 
they fail; to flower freely, which they are liable to do if 
the mass becomes too thick ; iu some soils the) - increase 
very fast, producing immense quantities of offsets that 
flower the second year. A small clump will produce a 
large number of flower-spikes in June, a season when 
choice flowers are scarce. G. Byzantium, another pei - - 
fectly hardy specie, is a native of Turkey. This species 
is particularly desirable in the border, as it is free- 
flowering, and when once planted may remain many 
years without separating, as it produces so few offsets 
that it requires a long time to become troublesome from 
crowding. Both these species dislike shade and require 
an airy as well as a sunny situation for a perfect de¬ 
velopment of flower. 
G. Ramosus, the Branching Gladiolus, is unquestion¬ 
ably the finest species of the genus. In the size and 
beauty of its flowers it yields the palm to none, and on 
account of its peculiarly branching habit, it may be con¬ 
sidered the most ornamental. In favorable situations, 
the flower-stems will grow five feet high, and produce a 
succession of flowers from June until August. The 
flowers are very large, well opened, and of good shape. 
Color, rosy blush, with heavy carmine stains on the 
three lower petals. The leaves are proportionately large 
and handsome, and the whole plant forms a magnificent 
object when given plenty of room for its development. 
The bulbs should be planted in the Fall, in a dry, sandy 
