Here’s the thing of it. You’ve met a lovely young thing and she has
invited you over for dinner. What to bring? A bottle of wine. Yeah…
but also no. You want to make an impression. Flowers would be nice.
But what kind?
One has to be cautious here. Bring flowers into her house that are
out of season… and bad luck will pervade the premises. This is a no
no on a first dinner date. Trust me. Also… as an aside… flowers
should always be given in an uneven number for the same reasons as
given above.
Okay. How about an in-season mix of red and white somethings. Well…
that would be fine if you don’t mind her dropping dead on you in the
middle of her souffle. Another no no my friends.
No agrimony folks. These blooms are said to produce sleep. Needless
to say… sleep at an inopportune moment can be a tad awkward.
Lilies are good. They produce wakefulness. No coffee around? Sniff a
lily.
Depending on the ultimate goal of the evening… roses are believed
to cure infertility. Verbena will excite love. Mix 'em together and
you can skip the oysters.
Anemone… refusal. Apricot… timidity and doubt. Bramble… envy.
Gardenia… secret love. Let’s hope it’s you. Straw… she wants to
be your slave. Think this one over carefully… the repercussions may
be unexpected. However… here’s a good one. Bring a flower to the
dinner table… then wipe your lips with it after drinking wine and
then present it to her… and she’s yours forever. Be careful with
this one too. Forever can sometimes be a tad oppressive.
So what are you going to bring her? Let me tell you about a jeweler
named Louis-David Duval. Born in Geneva… he starts his career as a
silversmith in London and then moves to Russia in 1753 where he opens
his own workshop. He becomes a court jeweler to Catherine II.
And then comes the late 1750’s. I extrapolate here and surmise that
Louis is invited for dinner at a pretty young thing’s house. He
probably goes to the local florist. Nothing. Mundane crap. Anemone…
apricot… bramble … and on and on. So I’m guessing he goes home
and gathers about him his Amethysts. Diamonds. Emeralds.
Rubies. Topaz. Pyropes. Spinel. Aquamarine. Turquoise. The collection
is endless.
And he makes a bouquet. Don’t ask me how dinner worked out. Was it a
success? Was it a failure? Go look at his bouquet of gems in a glass
vessel and tell me how you think he fared that fateful night.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you
will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Current Tidbits. Click it… and you will see represented on our
pages… a bouquet of gems in a glass vessel by Louis-David Duval.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark