Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 3).djvu/562

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566
The Strand Magazine.

The morning-room.
From a Photo. by Elliott & Fry.

round of Craig-y-nos. The principal entrance is from a courtyard at the back of the house, and although outwardly the building possesses no particular attraction, the interior is charming and tasteful to a degree. The decorations are in ivory white and electric blue, and the curtain shows a tableau, wherein Patti herself, as Semiramide, drives a triumphal car in the face of all beholders. Three hundred electroliers, cunningly arranged, throw a radiance over the general proceedings, and a floor inclining towards the stage when theatricals are undertaken, by a clever device can be brought to a level with the boards if a ballroom be desired. Very frequently Patti is induced to take part with her friends in a dumb charade or pantomime, and exhibits, as everybody can believe, a very telling talent for comedy. Her ten minutes' impromptu duologue with Mr. Terris on the occasion of the festivities at Craig-y-nos last summer will not readily be forgotten


The conservatory.
From a Photo. by Elliott & Fry.