But when nothing happened at all, I knew that the rest of the night would be dreadful. The silence continued, I still thought that it could only be a practical joke, and that one of us – probably the prince himself – would produce the ring with a laugh. She was unused to asking for things twice. The princess was still smiling, though less easily. There was a pause, while each of us looked expectantly at his neighbour. It was some 20 minutes later when the princess stood up and said: "Before we leave you, may I have my ring back?". As I turned away again, I saw her pass it on.
For a moment it rested on my own palm, gleaming splendidly. There were exclamations of delight and admiration. It is said to have once belonged to Genghis Khan." "It was my grandmother's – the old empress," she said. Then she took off the ring and held it out to him. Across the table, the newspaper proprietor leant across and said: "May I also have a look?" She smiled and nodded. She turned her hand gracefully towards my uncle. Towards the end of a wonderful dinner, when dessert had been brought in and the servants had left, my uncle leant forward to admire a magnificent diamond ring on the princess's hand. But I should also stress that they were all old and intimate friends of my uncle Octavian. Even today, 30 years later, one may fairly admit that the company was distinguished. It was exciting for me to be admitted to such company, which included a newspaper proprietor of exceptional intelligence and his fabulous' American wife, a recent prime-minister of France and a distinguished German prince and princess.Īt that age, you will guess, I was dazzled. I was staying with my uncle at his exquisite villa, on holiday from school, and as a special concession on this happy day, I was allowed to come down to dinner. I, myself, aged fifteen, was deeply privileged. As usual on such a day he was giving a party, a party for twelve people. There was nothing special about that day in the life of my uncle Octavian, except that it was his fifty-fifth birthday. He was a hospitable and most amiable man – until January 3, 1925. He was a charming and accomplished host whose villa was an accepted rendezvous of the great.
Great jokes for dinner parties full#
Let me tell you a story which happened to my uncle Octavian a full thirty years ago. But there are other, more genuine problems. They are seldom problems of finance, since most rich people have enough sense to hire other people to take care of their worries. Many of them lead lives of particular pleasure. There are still some rich people in the world.
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