WHAT A BOUQUET DID.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1458, 17 January 1887, Page 2

WHAT A BOUQUET DID.

These PaHb boulevard flower dealers writfta a correspondent, have wonderful taste for arranging fl >wers. There is one of them, Mme. Lion, whose reputation ia Furopean ever since aa incident with which she happened to be connected got into its napurs. .

One of the Secretaries of the French Embassy at St Poteraburg fell m love with one of the ladies of honor to the Empress. Unluckily for the young diplomattet, ahe was already engaged to bo married to a very wealthy and tit'ed Muscovite, but she aould nut help bLowIng her preference for the noble Frenchman. Thereupon the Russian made such a scene that the lady went to the Empress for protection. ' Try and Induce her Mojeßty to accord your hand to whichever of us two shall produce the mo%t beautiful bouquet,' said the Secretary to her, and ahe promised she would do co The Kmpre3B loved her very much indeed, and readily yielded to «n arraqgement which promised to be pleasant In any event. They sent for the young Iqdy's father who laughingly consented to all that waa going on. .Then the Russian gentlemm was communicated with, and when he waa Informed thaV mademoiselle's hand was for him who gave her the most magnificent bouquet that day fortnight, the Empress heraelf to be »he judge, he believed he would become her husband, and none other. But confident m his great fortune and his own good Uste, this Russian let thu days piss, supposing all (he time that his money oould buy what ho wanted at the last moment. The day arrived when the lc*e gauge was to be dtcido d That part of the palace m which the Czarina lives was the scene of great txoitemeut. Eyon the autocratio Cz.r himself deigned to bo interested. r/l.jo the Grand Duke A'exfs was as eager as a child about it. The Russian nobleman advanced and presented ' an onormoua bouquet. It was indeed beau* tifal ; it was made up of the rarest fleers that could be found m all Russia, and had cost somethiug iike 80CO roubles. At the sight of h the young lady nearly fainted. . Surely if. w.b Imp suble for her dear little diplomatist to ever exoel.uuob, magnificence. The other Indies of honor and all thoso present ohowed their appreciation of their couulrymau'a lova tokeq. With a smile on his lips the oount step pad forward, hiding m hia hand two gilded boxes. Iv politest language be dftid that one of the b.>xes contained a bouquet fof the lady ho loved ; iha othor held a few flowers which ha humbly begged that the Empress would deign to acenpb. Then ho handed the two ladies eaoh her bouquet, and immediately all those present a»w th*t he had won ; for never before waa there Puch a lovely combination of color and psrfume as ia those which he himaolf had brought from Paris. For the m suit that the gsugo h.d been throwa down he applied for leave of abSenoa ; it took nearly two days to get it. and then he Btarted {or Paris. Arriving there, ho rode straight to a famous flower shop, and told the proprletraaa what he wanted. That night, at eight o'clock, he waa on his w*y back to Russia, and m the large basket whioh he looked carefully after day and night were riiftos, fl)nvonira de Mailmaison.and gardenia, mi these" three most lovely uses were «et about with white lilattf ruoh a bouquet was neve* seen in'" the ):u3aian o\pu,*l, and the Empress without delay awarded the oount the younj? lady's hand, They were married, and are now living m Vienna, to whioh embassy he waa promoted only a few months a*o. Tit Bits

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