CUT FLOWERS 191 



the Rue des Pyramides, so like real rock crystal 

 that you wonder whether that skilful artist 

 has not been rifling the royal treasure of the 

 Louvre hard by. One day it was filled with 

 six or eight pink and white single Tulips 

 with their leaves, rather sparsely arranged ; 

 another week with Empress Daffodils ; yet 

 another with a few Roman Hyacinths and 

 blood-red Tulips. And if the rest of the 

 charming room had been as bare as a barn, 

 this one vase would have stamped its owner 

 as the true artist she is. 



In Daffodil time what a delight it is to 

 deck the house with them. A handful of 

 Emperor, Empress, and Princeps, in a blue 

 Delft jar on the mantelpiece opposite my 

 table, is enough to distract me from work on 

 an April morning. One misses so much of 

 the beauty of these great Trumpet Daffodils 

 if they are below the level of the eye ; and 

 only as we gaze up into the very heart of 

 each flower do we know its true value. The 

 Medium Crown or Star Daffodils we can place 

 anywhere ; for their sweet faces look right up 



