OUR PARIS-LETTER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 309, 4 July 1879, Page 2

OUR PARIS-LETTER.

(FROM OUR OWN (m&SPONpENT.) ~ May is, n©t by* any* means 'merry, yet "juvenile parties were celebrated j not the less : iii ( its; The invitations are issuegV to cqme at three, andj depart at eight, so as to allow papas and ;mammas ;to enjoy dinner. A May-pole lis erected in the drawing-room, and the youngest lady of the family giving tile soiree is selected queen, led; crowned with flowers into the room, and .seated on a bank of nodding violets beneath the pole. She* haslordsTand ladles'irt;waiting, distributes favors, selects partners for .dances, and calls upon subjects to recite poetry, sing, or play tbe piano. A cake is scut by her Majesty, and whoever fifids the;! ring will be a bride if she lives well intd iher teens. The oply between positive winter and the absent spring is, that instead of furs cashmere shawls are .worn ; it is the general wrap for carriage driving and races; There never was a time when lace, muslin, and crape were so much employed as at present. Jupons seem to be only a cloud of these materials; the same is to be observed of cravats and frills. As a set-off, pocket-handkerchiefs never were smaller —it is prudent to economise in something, and all that is necessary is to ensure that a corner of it peeps out of the pocket. Spring costumes—visible only in shop windows, are in the lightest of muslins, with white embroidery and Brittany lace. Street dresses are short, but toilette robes are long, the princess train, it is needless to say, and the inevitable panier, composed of graceful folding at the sides. There is an underground discontent at the size of the bonnet; it is too bold, defiant, and makes ladies of taste hold on by some form of capote —the Empire shape as pretty as any; the Directoire.h&t is all one color. The capotes are simple and varied, the trimming consists of all sorts of flowers, up even to thistles and dates, with a sprinkling of steel ornaments, birds, and insects.; The material is faille, satin, garnet, crape. Mourning dresses are loaded with jet, and a special wild kind of called canaque r fringe.,. At dinners each lady finds 'a fan,' beautifully painted, placed where she is to sic, 'and in some cases gentlomen. have their, phqfo to, mark their position. There is much independence, and variety in mantles as in bonnets,, the one thing needful to observe being not to forget what suits the wearer's figure. There is some excitement, not at allof an alarming kind, about signing petitions to please the clergy, but ladies do not give much attention to the matter ; aware their husbands or fathers dislike their stooping to things they do hot understand. The Rev. M. Ldyson has made such progress

with his new church that he has petitioned tho members of Parliament to rank him like other religions recognised and paid by the nation. He Ims made more than a sect, and may become the kernel of a great movement yet. I r hate omnibusses, but often one has only Hobson's choice, so that it is agreeable to learn.'larger busses will be employed," so that your dre& will never be converted into a mat, and room left for sitting down. , French travellers are not at all-polite,'and. the gallantry of the modern Gauls- cari be'vjudged by any tram-car, where delicate women are left standing while robust men look at them from comfortable seats inside. Another street improvement,, the " crossings," are a veritable middle passage, and what the policemen do there is a mystery; they seem to enjoy a blocking of the way, and leave passengers and vehicles to get out of it as best they can. In other cities the "handsomest" policemen are said to be selected for aiding timid ladies to "cross the line "of vehicles. The Republic, as M. Garabetta admits, has not tne ladies on its side ; no wonder, if it treats us so, in the "capital of light ;" perhaps when'M. Gambetta -is ; married,'*. an event that so many politicians are endeavoring to bring about, matters may be " Barkis is not willin." * A great treat is reserved'fof the'admirers, of the well of English qndefiled.. A company of Frenchmen'speaking English are'to "do " Shakspeare 5 rest assured they will, ancfastonish the shade of even the divine Williams himself.