My First Dinner Party At Grace ' s you get the prettiest table decorations , the dullest conversation , and ( I'm told ) the best dinners in London . It was rather a pretty idea to have Neapolitan violets floating in all the finger - glasses . Several people got quite brisk as they picked them out and made dear little bouquets . A middle aged M . P . took me in , and seemed to think me a great bore ! From a Debutante ' s Diary , 1890