Page:Alice Lauder.pdf/204

bay window formed a sort of daïs or stage for the grand piano and a harp. The Klingenders thoroughly understood the art of lighting up, and if ever there is a good excuse for reckless extravagance, it certainly lies in the becoming radiance of innumerable wax candles. They had, on the other hand, carefully abstained from the wild profusion of ornamental pots and garlands of flowers, which in so many similar cases turns our houses into the semblance of a bad horticultural show, with a slight tinge of a cheap bazaar, and some reminiscences of church decorations thrown in. The cedar-lined coved ceiling glowed in a more golden shade of brown, the few choice bowls of flowers, placed well out of reach of the destroyers, perfumed the room with dreamy odours, and the music that floated from the little raised daïs was delicious enough to persuade the new-world fairies to leave their white mushroom rings on the green plain outside, and dance a measure on the satin-polished cedar floor within. Whatever might be the fate of the other domestic apartments, it could not be denied that the ample space, sylvan-colouring, and fine architectural design of this large open hall formed a very attractive introduction to the usual informal, timber-built country-house of the colonies.