> This line is completely equivalent to replacing it with a call to > cairo_save and adding a call to cairo_restore at the very end of the > containing scope. > > You cannot move this line into a different function, because then the > destructor (and hence cairo_restore) gets called when decorateItem() > returns. Except my code ONLY works if it is moved into another function! That's what is driving me nuts. I will have to trace this code thoroughly, as there must be a dangling transformation or an extra cairo_restore or cairo_save somewhere.

I guess. I am not a fan of implicit side effects unless there is absolutely no way around it. Here dc.save() blah dc.restore() would have worked, and it would have been immediately apparent to a maintenance programmer what was going on. Or is the ::Save stuff in there to clean up in case there is an exception and the code jumps to a handler, without ever returning from these functions?