12 BRITISH FLORAL DECORATION 



perpetually dodging a bank of flowers when talking 

 across a table or from one end to the other. 



It is curious that neither glass manufacturers nor 

 makers of stands for table decoration have been 

 able to get over the difficulty of obstructing the 

 view of those dining when high floral decorations 

 are used. All their contrivances, so far as I have 

 seen them, necessitate arranging the flowers just 

 where they should not be, that is, in the line of 

 sight. What I am driving at may be gathered 

 from the illustration in this book entitled, " A Little 

 Diplomatic Dinner-table of Wichuriana Roses." 



In this particular instance there is no doubt the 

 stand is too high for so small a table, but as it was, 

 as its title conveys, a diplomatic dinner, where 

 every one would be called upon to speak during the 

 evening, it was necessary to keep the line of sight 

 perfectly clear when the speakers were standing. 

 These tall "Ellen Terry" stands do not in the 

 least interfere with any low decoration which may 

 be deemed advisable ; they are merely to decorate 

 the room generally, to carry the eye upwards as 

 well as downwards, and to create a feeling that one 

 is dining in a bower of flowers. 



A point upon which too much stress cannot be 

 laid is that the flowers, candelabra, and candlesticks 



