ll, I
murmured--

'Yes--dear, dear old friend. We shall know all about the securities....'

THE BOOM IN YELLOW

Green must always have a large following among artists and art lovers;
for, as has been pointed out, an appreciation of it is a sure sign of a
subtle artistic temperament. There is something not quite good,
something almost sinister, about it--at least, in its more complex
forms, though in its simple form, as we find it in outdoor nature, it is
innocent enough; and, indeed, is it not used in colloquial metaphor as
an adjective for innocence itself? Innocence has but two colours, white
or green. But Becky Sharp's eyes also were green, and the green of the
aesthete does not suggest innocence. There will always be wearers of the
green carnation; but the popular vogue which green has enjoyed for the
last ten or fifteen years is probably passing. Even the aesthete himself
would seem to be growing a little weary of its indefinitely divided
tones, and to be anxious for a colour sensation somewhat more positive
than those to be gained from almost imperceptible _nuances_, of green.
Jaded with over-refinements and super-subtleties, we seem in many
directions to be harking back to the primary colours of life. Blue,
crude and unsoftened, and a form of magenta, have recently had a short
innings; and now the triumph of yellow is imminent. Of course, a love
for green implies some regard for yellow, and in our so-called aesthetic
renaissance the sunflower went before the green carnation--which is,
indeed, the badge of but a small schism of aesthetes, and not worn by
the great body of the more catholic lovers of beauty.

Yellow is becoming more and more dominant in decoration--in wall-papers,
and flowers cultivated with decorative intention, such as
chrysanthemums. And one can easily understand why: seeing that, after
white, yellow reflects more light than any other colour, and thus
ministers to the growing preference for light and joyous rooms. A few
yellow chrysanthemums will make a small room look twice its size, and
when the sun comes out upon a yellow wall-paper the whole room seems
suddenly to expand, to open like a flower. When it falls upon the pot of
yellow chrysanthemums, and sets them ablaze, it seems as though one had
an angel in the room. Bill-posters are beginning to discover the
attractive qualities of the colour. Who can ever forget meeting for the
first time upon a hoarding Mr. Dudley Hardy's wonde