Rustic adornments for homes of taste

Front matter

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Contents

THE HOME OF TASTE.

PAGE

FLORAL ORNAMENTS

Chapter I. Floral Decorations

SO many are the social qualities of flowers that it would be a difficult task to enumerate them. We always feel welcome when, on entering a room, we find a display of flowers on the table. Where there are flowers about, the hostess appears glad, the children pleased, the very dog and cat grateful for our arrival, the whole scene and all the personages seem more hearty, homely, and beautiful, because of those bewitching roses, and orchids ; and lilies, and mignonette ! Assuredly, of all simple domestic ornaments flowers must have the first place.

“ Better hang a wild rose over the toilette than nothing,” says Leigh Hunt ; “ the eye that looks in the glass will see there something besides itself, and acquire something of a religious right to respect itself, in thinking by how many objects in the creation the bloom of beauty is shared.”

Speaking of breakfast in summer, the same prince of essayists says, “ Set flowers on your table, a whole nosegay, if you can get it, or but two or three,

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Rustic Adornments.

or a single flower ; — a rose, a pink, nay, a daisy. Bring a few daisies and buttercups from your last field walk, and keep them alive in water ; and preserve but a bunch of clover, or a handful of flowering grass — one of the most elegant as well as cheap of nature’s productions — and you have some¬ thing on your table that reminds you of the beauty of God’s creation, and gives you a link with the poets and sages that have done it most honour. Put but a rose, or a lily, or a violet on your table, and you and Lord Bacon have a custom in common ; for that great and wise man was in the habit of having the flowers in season set upon his table — morning, and, we believe,

noon, and night ; that is to say, at all his meals ; for dinner, in his time, was taken at noon ; and why should he not have flowers at all his meals, seeing that they were growing all day ? Now, here is a fashion that shall last you for ever, if you please ; never changing with silks and velvets, nor dependent upon the caprice of some fine gentleman or lady. The fashion of the garments of heaven and earth endures for ever, and you may adorn your table with specimens of their drapery — with flowers out of the fields, and golden beams out of the blue ether."

It would be folly to assume that our readers need any persuasion to adopt the practice of adorning the inside of the house with flowers ; for who does not rejoice in a bright bouquet, or a vase of newly-gathered roses, or a window screened with fresh foliage and pyramids of bloom ? Children delight to make posies for mamma, lovers tremblingly present blushing roses to blushing maids, and dimpled cheeks outshine the flowers because the flowers have foolishly competed with them. The serious master of the house bethinks him of the home demands as he hurries about the city, and the consequence is that flower-stands come home in the carrier's cart, and all are impatient to see them filled with their glorious burden. And the good old soul who gets ready that same carrier’s breakfast, ere he sallies out into the hot dusty road,

Floral Ornaments.

r has her box of mignonette and ornamental pots of balsams, fuchsias and musk, and her jug filled with wallflowers, and the smoked mantel in her little kitchen is smothered with dry grasses, with a sprig of asparagus berries in the midst, while the window of her parlour is artlessly draped with the bright green foliage and the yellow blossoms of the canary creeper.

You who have gardens may multiply your enjoyments of them a hundred-fold by keeping in mind the genial suggestion of Leigh Hunt. Make the most of every ray of light that falls out of heaven to bless you at the win¬ dow ; there you may woo beauty, and have it nod to you in a hundred forms : with a pair of scissors you may, every morning, cull a posy for the breakfasttable ; you may make the tables, and the mantel-pieces, and the quiet recesses of your rooms gay at all times, and the whole at¬ mosphere of the house as odorous of flowers, as we will hope it is already morally sweet with the interchange of love’s language and the expressions of high emotions of the heart.

There are many ways in which cut flowers may be preserved, both

with and without suitable appliances. In spring time you may delight yourself by culling a few violets, and place them in a glass dish, in which there is a little wet silver-sand. The short stems stuck into the sand obtain sufficient moisture, and a glass over the whole confines the fragrance, so that whenever you are inclined to inhale a full breath of unadulterated violet perfume, you have but to lift off the glass, and enjoy it to your heart's content. In the

SABOT OF GRASSES AND BULRUSHES.

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Rustic Adornments .

same simple way any short-jointed flowers may be preserved for a considerable time ; the partial shade and the confinement of moisture secured to them by the glass, preserve their beauty and fragrance, sometimes even for a fortnight, but the most fragile will in this way continue fresh and beautiful for at least a week.

But we must not ignore the vase and basket of flowers, and so for a moment let us consider how best to deal with them. Directions for filling vases might be multiplied beyond all possibility of usefulness, and perhaps we should be brief rather than prolix on the subject, for just this reason, that people must fill them with what they can get, and frequently the hand of taste is paralyzed by the scarcity of subjects for its exercise. The common fault of flowers in vases is that they are “bunched” like greens: too much is thought of colour and too little of form : too much is thought of flowers and too little of leaves. As to the flowers, much positive colour is not desirable ; intense yellow is a dangerous element, a soft mixture will usually gratify an educated eye far more than a dashing display of primary colours unrelieved by secondaries* or by green leaves. Strong colours are not objectionable, for in truth we need them to light up the whole and give it character ; but you will soon see that the line must be drawn somewhere by filling a vessel with the brightest scarlet geraniums only, without a single leaf to tone down the glare. It is very important to make proper distinction between flowers that retain their character, or at least look pleasing by artificial light, for some of the best daylight flowers are but poor things when daylight has fled, and the flame of gas or oil has become the substitute. Nearly all flowers in which there is a notable proportion of blue are unattractive when seen under artificial light. Hence purple and lilac flowers do not usually look well at night, though there are exceptions owing to the intensity of the red in some purples, which comes out well at night and causes them to appear as crimsons. Yellows invariably lose brilliancy, and pale yellows become bad whites under gaslight, but reds and crimsons, all shades of pink and white retain their beauty, and, as a rule, green leaves are pleasing under any light ; the introduction of electric light, however, obviates this difficulty ; for, where this is used, everything keeps almost its natural hue.

As to the leaves, it scarcely matters what they are while they simply supply the filling up or foundation — green showing to advantage, even if obscurely, under the chaste lacing of many coloured flowers. But wherever a leaf appears as a leaf, we must have grace as well as greenness, and happily the poorest garden will supply abundant material, especially in the form of fern

Floral Ornaments .

v* fronds, for the purpose. Suppose we take first a few orchids, or some of the lovely Eucharis Amazonica , and finish the whole with the biggest cabbage leaf the garden can supply ! It will be evident thereupon that the forms of leaves that accompany flowers are fully as important as their colours, for assuredly we may find amongst the cabbages some very refreshing tones of verdure. Now it is really true that many bouquets, and vases, and homely jugs, filled with flowers, that are admirable up to a certain point, are ruined at last by the introduction of leaves that are as fustian jackets on bonny belles sitting at a tournament. Take away the cabbage leaf, and insert a few tufts of that very cheap and common striped grass of the cottage garden, the variegated Phalaris arundmacea . What a change ! But you may have finished your bouquet with leaves of Begonia rex , or similarly large multi¬ coloured leaves, and have made it quite as hideous thereby as by the employment of a cabbage leaf. Take them away, and put in a bit of maiden-hair fern, or a few small portions of the fronds of the common brake (if it happens to be summer-time), or»any other of similarly elegant, bright, fragile-textured things, and the flowers will instantly acquire ten times, a hundred times, their former beauty.

Large flowers are, generally speaking, not adapted for small bouquets or vases ; such coarse things as paeonies are utterly unsuitable, and even roses are more acceptable if only half expanded, or fairly showing colour in the bud, than when full out and becoming loose with age and expansion. Severity of outline, too, is as objectionable as the employment of coarse subjects. A bouquet or a bunch should alike be elegantly negligent in configuration, a general contour distinctly suggested but not defined, the tendency to harsh¬ ness of outline which flowers regularly packed are sure to produce, broken by the uprising of green sprays of grass and fern, not obtrusively, as if the flowers were there simply to show them off, but modestly, and to afford a passing relief. To say that a geometric arrangement is never to be tolerated may appear superfluous, but really we have seen in many competitions at provincial exhibitions, flowers grouped in accordance with such a system, — a ring of yellow, a ring of scarlet, a ring of blue, and a central dot of white. Oh, horror, horror, to think that flowers should grow in the gardens of folks who can use them in this way !

The management of cut flowers will justify a few words of advice. In the first place, the flowers should be cut , not torn or pinched from the plants, for bruised or crushed stalks cannot take up nourishment from water properly,

14 Rtistic Adornments.

but those sharply and cleanly cut can. Flowers gathered by means of the thumb nail will not live so long as those cut with a sharp knife or scissors ; and so to begin with, there is a science of obtaining as well as of grouping them. As it is not well to make a toil of pleasure, cold water, hard or soft, may be used for flowers of all kinds during the summer. If changed every three days, and the ends of all the stems are cut clean off at the same time, the flowers will last a reasonable length of time and do their duty perfectly. So far we consent to the rough and ready method that the world allows. But those who love flowers will not be content with rough and ready methods always. A few nodules of charcoal in the water will in great part prevent putrescence when flowers have to be left some time in water without a change. A pinch of common salt is a cheap and handy preservative, and actually benefits the flowers as a stimulant. A small quantity of permanganate of potash added to the water will keep it quite sweet for days, and camphor is a similarly valuable preservative. In winter it is best never to employ cold, but tepid water, for filling vases, and to place them in a room warmed by a fire, but always avoiding the exposure of the flowers to a high temperature if possible. A hot dry air will kill them sooner than cold and moisture, but both extremes are bad. Flowers that have been long gathered and neglected, or that have been conveyed a long distance by carrier, or post, may be quickly revived by plunging them in hot water , say ioo° to 140°, the last figure to be the maximum by Fahrenheit’s scale. Almost any plant will bear immersion in water heated to 150°, but it is safer to regard 140° as the maximum, because forced flowers are delicate, and a few very soft-textured hardy kinds are not to be parboiled with impunity. Another essential point must not be overlooked, and that is adopting some means of preventing the petals of single-flowered azaleas and zonal pelargoniums falling off prema¬ turely. The usual, and perhaps the best, plan is to drop some specially prepared floral gum into the centre of each bloom directly the flowers are gathered. A very small quantity of the gum (which is sold in a liquid state in bottles by florists) will suffice to firmly cement the petals, and hence the blooms will retain their freshness for a much longer period than if not gummed. Scarcely less important than the foregoing considerations is the one to be named last in the list. We have shown that flowers should not be exposed to cold unduly; it now remains to be said they must not be strangled. When tightly-tied bouquets are purchased, the ties should be loosened, if possible, but that may necessitate making them up again, and the task may

V

Floral Ornaments be too great. It is quite an easy matter to make up a bouquet sufficiently firm that it will endure a considerable amount of shaking without harm, and yet to leave it loose enough for every stalk to act as nature intended it, as the purveyor of nutriment to the leaves and flowers. There is, indeed, no necessity to tie flowers at all for home use, and only when necessity really requires it should any kind of ligature be employed.

FLOWERS SUITABLE FOR DISPLAY UNDER GAS OR ELECTRIC LIGHT.

The various shades of mauve, purple, and yellow do not come out well by gas-light. We have avoided them, and in the undermentioned selection have named those only which have a peculiarly bright and effective appearance when seen under the influence of this form of artificial light.

The best of those requiring a stove temperature are the following, namely :

A chimenes coccinea .

Ale June a fulgens. Aschynanthus splendidus.

Amaryllis or Hippeastrums, all the scarlet varieties.

Begonias (tuberous), scarlet and white varieties.

Clerodendron Balfouri.

Crinums , in variety.

Epiphyllum truncatum , E. truncatum aurantiacum , E. truncatum violaceum.

Eucharis amazonica , E. Candida , E. Mastersii.

Euphorbia jacquiniflora.

Eurycles australasica.

Gesnera Blassi , G. exoniensis , G. refulgens , G. zebrina sple?idens.

Gardenia citriodora , G.florida .

Gloxinias , white and scarlet varieties.

Hoy a Bella.

Impatiens Sultanii.

Ixoras , in variety.

Justicia coccinea J. speciosa .

Orchids , white or rose-coloured.

Pancratiums fragrans.

Pomsettia pulcherruna .

Plumbago coccinea superba .

Thyrsacanthus rutilans.

Rustic Adornments .

Amongst the inhabitants of the greenhouse the following are first-rate, namely : —

Azalea indica , in variety.

Bouvardias.

Camellias.

Calla Lily (Richardia ^Ethiopica),

Carnations , Tree, of sorts.

Choisya ternatea .

Cyclamen Persicum , white and rose varieties.

Epacris , in variety.

Eupatorium odor a turn.

Erancoa ramosa.

Hydrangeas.

Kalosanthes coccinea.

Lilium speciosum.

Lily of the Valley.

Primula , Chinese, double and single.

Zonal Pelargoniums , scarlet and white.

Berry-bearing plants with scarlet berries are very showy by gaslight, especially Ardisa crenulata , Rivinia humilis , Solanum hybridum , Crategus pyracantha fcemina (true, green leaf), and the scarlet and yellow-berried Hollies .

T't

Chapter II. Dinner-table Decorations

When summer comes, the little children play In the churchyard of our cathedral gray,

Busy as morning bees, and gathering flowers,

In the brief sunshine ; they, of coming hours Reck not, intent upon their play, though time Speed like a spectre by them, and their prime Bear on to sorrow — -“Angel, cry aloud ! ”

Tell them of life’s long evening — of the shroud :

No ! let them play ; for age alone, and care,

Too soon will frown to teach them what they are.

Then let them play : but come, with aspect bland,

Come, Charity, and lead them by the hand ;

Come, Faith, and point amidst life’s saddest gloom,

A light from Heaven, that shines beyond the tomb.

When they look up, and in the clouds admire The lessening shaft of that aerial spire,

So be their thoughts uplifted from the sod,

Where time’s brief flowers they gather— to their God.

Bowles.

TO go over old ground is one of the necessities of this book, but now we have a new subject ; for since “ Rustic Adornments ” first appeared, a quite new order of things has arisen in connection with the embellishment of the dinner-table. The improvement made upon the old “ epergne,” heavy with precious metal or an imitation of it, is so decisive and delightful, that we

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R us tic A dorn me tits.

are much more desirous of advancing the good points of the new system than of pointing out its possible defects. Horticultural exhibitions have in our time accomplished one most useful purpose, in the promotion of good taste in dinner-table decorations, by means of the numerous competitions that have been instituted for the purpose throughout the length and breadth of the land.

The exhibitions resulting from the invitations given have had a marked effect on the taste displayed at home in the employment of flowers as embellish¬ ments, and, to a certain extent, as necessary adjuncts to festivities and family gatherings. Much talent hitherto latent, or but rarely called into exercise, has been quickened into activity, and many who could appreciate good teaching in matters of taste have benefited by the lessons offered. In our visits to exhibitions, we have been deeply interested in watching the development of the art of decorating in this particular department of the economy of the Home of Taste, and it is with delightful satisfaction we have observed the steady improvement from year to year by which these exhibitions have been marked. When they were first instituted, many clumsy con¬ trivances for the reception of fruit and flowers, and many ill-judged combinations of colours, were displayed ; there was, indeed, for a time a sort of indefinable want felt by many of some type or standard of perfection, which was in part supplied when the Misses March made their debut, and attained the highest honours at South Kensington, by means of what were immediately designated the “ Marchian 6pergnes.” In a typical group, there was a central vase of three tiers, and two smaller vases of two tiers each, all of colourless glass, and of a simple and elegant design ; and many variations of the “ Marchian ” glasses followed, with cornucopias, and hanging baskets, all in clear glass. Great as was this improvement on the older forms of dinner-table decoration, these glasses had several weak points, one of the most troublesome being the difficulty with which the flowers were induced to stay in the flat saucer-shaped trays ; one or two heavy blossoms often causing the whole to fall out, just as they were complete in arrangement. Another difficulty arose, when flowers became scarce in winter ; for a large number of various kinds of bloom was necessary for a “ Marchian ” vase, and few horticulturists cared to cut so many flowers during the cold season. The monotony, too, of having constantly the same form in the centre of our dinner-tables, before long began to pall on the senses, and the idea of a carefully thought-out scheme of colour in one or two tints only (which could

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Dinner- Table Decorations .

be constantly varied with the season), took the place of these tall glass vases, filled with many colours.

At the present time, table decoration has assumed the dignity of a fine art ; and it is difficult to conceive anything more beautiful than the appearance of a really well-decorated dinner-table. China, glass, drapery, vases, and flowers are all made to contribute their share to a thoroughly harmonious whole ; with rich yet subdued colouring, sweet (but not oppressively luscious) scents, with plenty of the soft lace-like greenery of maiden-hair fern, Asparagus

A MODIFICATION OF THE INDIA TABLE DECORATION.

plumosus, selaginella, and flowering grasses to set off and harmonise the rich tints employed.

Four distinct styles of decorating a dinner-table may here be mentioned, i.e., the plan of draping the centre of the table with soft silk, of a suitable colour to harmonise with the china and glass, flowers being added to complete the harmony ; secondly, the use of the new art tablecloths, in delicate tints of old gold, crushed strawberry, olive green, and heliotrope, which are super¬ seding the drapery, and when used with suitable flowers, have a charming effect. The third system is that which is so well carried out by the native servants in India, either on white or coloured tablecloths ; which does away with the necessity of glasses for the flowers • wreaths of exquisite beauty being

Rustic Adornments.

constructed on the cloth itself. The central decoration should be in each case a handsome feathery palm, or a well-grown specimen of Thyrsacant/nis rutilans Azalea indica, fern, Spircea japonica , Begonia, or any other flowering plant, which may give the necessary light and graceful outline, with sufficient height to form a suitable centre, without obstructing the view of the guests — a great mistake in arrangement, which must be carefully avoided. The fourth plan

consists of the use of coloured leaves, berries, grasses, etc., and is more adapted for autumn and winter use.

To make the above different schemes of decoration for the dinner- / ' table more easily understood, it may

be well to give the details of each plan separately. Taking the “draped” table first, we must have, besides \ the white cloth, an oblong piece of l “ Liberty ” silk (or soft sateen), about one-and-a-half yards in breadth, and two-and-a-half in length, or larger in proportion to the length of the oblong table to be draped. Having laid this flat in the centre of the table, a silver or china bowl, containing the central specimen plant (say a fern, Cyrtomium falcatum ), is placed upon it (or the pot, being large, may be draped with the same tint). The silk is now waved with the finger until it looks like a soft sea of drapery, little pushes with the forefinger giving it bends and crinkles innumerable.

Again, it is extended somewhat at the four corners, and on each of these is placed a frosted specimen glass containing a fresh rose-bud, with a frond or two of maidenhair fern or a spray of Asparagus plumosus ; the edges of the silk are deftly turned in, and the drapery is caught up at the sides, so to speak, by fern fronds, or tinted foliage (such as blackberry, Virginia creeper, or carrot), in autumn • or even by sprays of the crimson tacsonia, or any richly coloured plant which harmonises with the roses employed. Specimen glasses containing similar rose-buds to those on the drapery may be used at intervals,

CENTRE PLANT DRAPED IN SILK.

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TABLE DECORATIONS WITH ROSES AND YELLOW CHINA. [See page 22.)

R nstic A dorn me /its.

and tiny bowls of silvered glass (or china) may be filled with small pots of maidenhair fern for the corners, or to alternate with the crystal vases. Small shaded lamps, too — much used on the dinner-table — add greatly to the general effect of soft light and colour.

When roses are scarce, pelargoniums, freesias, Shirley poppies, and many other flowers, will be suitable for these specimen glasses (which should be about six inches high), always avoiding brilliant yellows with old gold drapery, and subduing the whole effect with plenty of fern or flowering grasses. With silk of a soft tint of green, almost any flowers may be used, and china

of various colours ; but with old gold drapery, turquoise, or marone and white,

are the most suitable tints for the china, with clear or frosted glass.

A slight modification of the above plan is illustrated on p. 21. In this design the centre of the table may be covered with crimson plush, and

yellow china vases, filled with white lilies, roses, and ferns, arranged in a

free and graceful manner. The plush should be laid in a negligd style, and have rose blooms dropped here and there on it or at the sides. Small vases filled with flowers should be dotted about near the corners and sides, and sprays of maidenhair fern placed in the finger bowls.

For the second plan of decoration, the softly-tinted new tablecloths are used in preference to the draped silk; white damask slips being placed under the plates, and removed at dessert time.

On a “crushed strawberry" cloth, all pinks except those in perfect accord with the cloth must be avoided ; here creamy marguerites, arranged lightly, two or three in an iridescent glass, with fern, grasses, and perhaps a spray or two of Myosotis dissitiflora (forget-me-not) will be perfect in effect, with white and gold china and iridescent glass. A tall elegant palm will be the centre-piece, no decided colours being needed ; or Spircea jciponica , with crimson shaded lamps, will carry out the scheme of “ strawberries and cream.”

On these lovely cloths it is not difficult to carry out the Anglo-Indian plan to perfection. For instance : on a tablecloth in soft shades of heliotrope may be placed a central plant of feathery fern, with a wreath of selaginella, fern, or other delicate foliage surrounding it, in a star, or spiral design. Violas (which are now brought to such a pitch of perfection) or purple pansies may be used to enrich these stars, which will surround every soft shaded-lamp and every dish of fruit on the table. The rich apricot buds of the William Allen Richardson rose, or buff marguerites, with fairy-like sprays of Asparagus plumosus or fern, may be used as occasional groups ; and the china, which must not be of an obtrusive colour, should complete the harmony of purple and soft yellow.

With reference to the fourth plan, represented at the head of this chapter, a charming effect can be produced by the use of berries and winter foliage for table decorations. There will be seen a centre-piece filled with small branches of the Scarlet-fruiting Barberry (B. vulgaris ), the rich, glaucous purple fruit of the Holly-leaved Barberry ( Mahonia aquifolia ), the brilliant orange-red capsules of the Winter Cherry ( Physalis Alkekengi ), and the fairy-like silvery placentas of the pods of the Honesty (Lunaria biennis ), with a sprig or two of the yellow winter jasmine and a few blooms of the Christmas rose inter¬ spersed between them. From the centre-piece to the four candelabra hang festoons of ivy, and under these are two ornaments filled with Christmas roses, small sprigs of ivy berries, and barberry fruit. Around all is a border of rich, bronzy-tinted ivy, and a tall glass in each corner filled with sprays of solanumand barberry berries, and flowers of winter jasmine and Christmas rose. At each corner and in the middle of each side, just outside the ivy edging, a few sprays of mahonia leaves, barberry and solanum berries, and blooms of Christmas rose are tastefully arranged. The warm, glowing colours of the berries and the rich bronzy tints of the foliage combined, render such an arrangement exceedingly effective when the room is lighted up in the evening. There are plenty of such materials to be obtained. In addition to those mentioned, there are holly berries, also berries of the Evergeen Firethorn ( Cratcegus pyracantha ), and Sea Buckthorn (. Hippophce rhamnoides). These, with everlasting flowers and dried grasses, may with little taste be utilized with good effect for the decoration of the Christmas dinner-table.

The foregoing explanatory specimens of table decoration may, of course, be modified and varied endlessly ; but it will always be found the best plan to use only two, or at the most three, kinds of blossom at the same time, with ample greenery.

Those who live in the country will find a delightful task in supplying the table with exquisite flowering grasses, tinted oak, maple, and other leaves, sprays of delicious creamy meadow-sweet, and all manner of lovely wild flowers ; while, fortunately for town dwellers, the craving for country delights has induced the flower-shops to lay in regular supplies of grasses and decorative items of many kinds from our lanes and hedges, which a few years ago would have been unsaleable commodities.

Assuming that grasses, foliage, and cut flowers are not readily come-at-able

A dinner-table is intended chiefly for the enjoyment of those who sit at it, and should never be made an occasion for ostentatious display of plate or cumbrous ornaments. One of the charms of a good dinner is agreeable conversation; we cannot enjoy a meal that is eaten in dead silence. Now, the more heavily weighted the table is with plate or with massive ornaments, the more are the guests oppressed by grandeur and awed into silence. For every necessary purpose of the feast there can be nothing too good. The precious metals are better than crockery for the reception of the viands, and china is better than pewter or wood. But there is a point at which to cease in the employment of costly furniture, and we certainly reach it when we begin to enrich the scene with fruits and flowers. These claim admiration on their own account, and require only to be placed in elegant receptacles in an elegant manner, so as to be seen from all points, and to offer no obstruction to the interchange of words and glances across the table, and so as not to overweigh or oppress the social light that belongs to the scene, and which is so easily crushed by excess of grandeur, or much more display of any kind than is appropriate to the place and the persons assembled. At a grand dinner we expect to see grand decorations, such as at an humbler table would be extravagant or perhaps absurd ; but the comfort of the guests is the matter of primary importance, and the embellishments of the table are to be adapted to that end ; the guests are not to be adapted to the decorations. When two friends happen to be placed on opposite sides of a table, with a large urn stuffed full of artificial flowers in the form of a gigantic cauliflower, and they have painfully to bob their heads right and left to catch the merest glimpses of the extreme outside edges of each other’s physiognomies, they are apt to decry the gay cauliflower and its sumptuous receptacle, instead of giving God thanks for their happy meeting and their well-spread table ; or will certainly entertain undesirable notions as to the ideas of their host in matters of taste and propriety. The chief adornments of a dinner-table are the guests assembled. Let that be remembered for ever and ever. The wealth of Croesus might as well be flung into the sea for the distraction of the fishes as be employed in overloading the table whereat his guests have assembled, not so much to be convinced of his wealth and grandeur as to see each other, and to do justice to his hospitality by enjoying it. For the present, this perhaps will be enough on the general. requirements of dinner-table decorations.