The Express.
London, England, 1868-07-08 00:00:00

WINDOW GARDENIN(I.

The flower show which took place yesissi
I)ean's-yard had many points of special
The exhibitors were all working peep's, swf.;,,,
in Westminster, and belonging to the pansies
St. Minaret and St. !Ow, Tho flieets)
•
grown m weir Own rooms, and ander every di.,;
vantage of situation and snrmunding. The
for Promoting Window Gardening, the presich.l
of which is the Dean of Wlaembister,
whose auepioes the display took pleas, has Is,
singularly buooessful in promoting a .191,4! ‘.
flowers among the parishioners of Westaxast,,.
Some of the fuchsias and geraniums shown les,
have borne comparison with any unforced thew,.
of their class. The competitors for prime v.-.
divided into three elaesee—lst, working
women; 2nd, domestic servants; and :del,
children of parochial, national, infant, Swirl ty..
ragged schools. The plants speeitied as tin. ,• .
which prizes were given were fuchsias, genie
annuals, and ferns -but under the latter !, •
were included the misoellaneous flowers ; 37• il'
amounts given ranged from ten
The Earl of Shaftesbury presented those
the happy winnera soon after half-past sic ,s • .
evening; but the enclosed sews. in the ,• •
Dean's-yard was rnodenitely full long bef.,
hour. The old place had been astir since s.
the morning. Soon after that hour wen, • ,
children and some men might be seen w.
their way slowly to the gate near the pure), ,
bearing a precious plant, the product of the y.
care, which was deposited tenderly with es
the officials waiting to receive it. The nem), -r
the pot and a free admission to the flower-11 w
after four o'clock were given in exchange, and •
exhibitor gave way to other flower-carriers. w 3
deposited and retired in their turn. When iii
plants had been received, the task of arrang•n, c:
and ()election began, and before two o'chs k t 1.4
was over, and the enclosure and the marquee w'-.
thrown open to the public at an admission
oneshilling each. We were among the visiteNs•
that early hour, and were astonished c
the fresh beauty of the show. The warp-,
erected on the western side of t
grassy quadrangle, was tastefully laid •,.•
with flowers in pots, the fuchsias and geraniun,
being especially noteworthy fur vividness
colour and greenness of leaf. The society, it an
be mentioned, has been in existence four years,
one gigantic fuchsia having carried off the
prize the whole of that time, the question as
raised yesterday whether its owner could I,:n.
enter into competition again with the same els:.•
But it was decided, and we think justly,
inasmuch as the care and labour to keep apleo.
the first rank of excellence are necessarily .a
as are required to bring fresh ones forwsel, t.
previous prize winning should disbar. par.
ticular fuchsia has grown to an immense 1,••.;:
and has been trained over trellis-work rising '•• • ,
its pot until its share resembles a section of , w•••
balloon. But this is but one out of many of t:
notable plants. Some hundreds were shown. •e-
-forty-four prizes given, so that the visitor
an extensive range to select from and admin.. .1
large braes band, the performers of which are
policemen, played lustily in one corner : a pea:
tics] reminiscence of Dean Stanley's tray
in the East in the shape of the tent '
took with him when he travelled with •
Prince of Wales stood in another; and doe
about the grass and at the windows of the hen-
near were interested visitors who had come to r•
people's show. It was quite a little fete. T
day was bright and hot, the clergy and others v.
had promoted the exhibition were pointing nut t.
recondite merits and hidden beauties of th•
favourites' plants; and the owners themsels.
blushed and smiled their appreciation of the lite,
compliments paid to their patience and skill. Ma,
Stanley, too, kindly dispensed tea and refresl•
ments from her brother the Dean's little tell
which was handsomely docked out for the °oak.
Bien; and in one corner of thelarger:marquee won,
sweets and fruits for those anxious to regale oth-
sensa) than those of sight and smell. The Dean
yard gates were dosed, but those keeping the o,
by the offices of the Civil Service Commis:i•
bad a busy time of it all the afternoon. Carrise
drove up from all parts of town, and many a well-
known possessor of rank and influence came
mingle with the clergy and their guess, and
admire the flowers. While his lordship w•
speaking the
_people continued to tte:k
until the resemblance to a foreign file, wit)
its genial mixture of priests and laymen au
of different social strata of both sexes, was 111,11
striking than ever. Children were rumens
and laughing on every side. Here and they
a Westminster boy, white-eravatted and when]
might be seen in the crowd looking on tolerant),
at its puerile amusements. Carriages were rangt,l
all round the railings of the enclosure. Sore,
hundred or so of fashionably dressed ladies were
assembled near the stand from which Lee,
Shaftesbury gave the prizes away ; while th,
fathers and mothers and lookers-on filled th,
whole of the quadrangle. Dean Stanley mounted th,
rostrum when Lord Shaftesbury vacated it, an
called for three cheers for his lordship's cleaner
speech, which were heartily given, though the
might have been more regular had not the dean
to whom everybody was looking for the signal.
genially forgotten to act as tugleman. Caner
Conway, to whose influence the Wintulinst,
Window Gardens Society owes much of it
mimeo, followed with a few words of kindly cc
hortation, and the proceedings terminated. Tie
question on the lips of every one present, and th
reflection which will inevitably occur to them t,
day, is, Why are not similar associations formed i
all the poor districts of London, and windot
who neemored
generally fostered among thoss
it most r

On Friday the Marquis of Clanriearde will move
for copiee of any correspondence that may has
taken place between the Foreign Office ar
her Majesty's ambassador at Paris, and of rl.,
communications from British shipowners in reference
the exclusion of British vessels from the coasting trade
France, and to the existing treaties between® Prance at
Spain, or any other country, relating to that trade.
In the House of Lords on Monday, Lord Taunt,
will move that no railway bill that proposes to raise tl
rates now payable on the conveyance of goods or
sengers shall be read a second time until a special rep"
from the Board of Trade on the subject shall have bee
laid on the table of the house.

Mr. Blake, on Friday, will call attention to ti
deficiency of workhouse dietaries in Ireland, and ine,
that, in the opinion of this House, the Poor-law Com-
missioners of Ireland should establish a minimum scale
dietary for the paupers in the union workhouses not le
than that now in existence in the Irish county gaols, 3 r
which was recommended by the commission appointed
report on the county prison dietaries, "as necessary
the preservation of the health of the prisoners."
In committee upon the Election Petitions Bi
Mr. Mill intends to move the following clause:—" (Dui
tion of certain clauses connected with election of members.)
The provision of clauses d to of the present act, yid
the jurisdiction thereby established for the trial of matter
connected with the election of members to serve in part's-
ment, shall remain in force for three years from the pianos'
of this act, and until the termination of the then Der
session of parliament, and shall then cease and deteriniet
unless parliament shall otherwise provide."
Mrs. Gladstone and Miss Helen Gladstone mat
a long visit to the National Orphan Home, Hain-eonimins
yesterday, and expressed themselves highly gratified with
the arrangements of this excellent institution.
SIR ROBERT NAPIER.—It is understood Uri
Sir Robert Napier is about to be raised to the peeraitc.
under the title of Baron Napier of Magdala, and that b
will be gazetted in a few days. Meanwhile Sir Reber
has been pleased to accept the freedom of the City et
London, which was recently voted to him by acclamation.
with a sword of great value, by the Court of Common
Council, and it has been arranged between him and tke
Lord Mayor that the ceremony of conferring this mark of
distinction shall be conducted in the Guildhall on Tine-
day, the 21st instant. The committee of the Corporation
charged with providing the sword have resolved to elf'
pedite its manufacture accordingly. The Lord Mayor
entertain Sir Robert and a distinguished party at the
Mansion House in the evening of the same day.
DISPENSARY FOR SKIN DUMMIES, 56, Glissr
Msausomorron-sramer, BROY2M-erase', W.-217 pana.nt"
were relieved at this dispensary during the woek ending
JOY 4.