OUR LADIES' LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 4217, 1 September 1876, Page 3

OUR LADIES' LETTER.

Paws„July 8. M. Gambetta, though he indulges in very strong language against the B-onapartists, pays them home, as it is said, in their own coin, is gallantry itself for our t>ie£x x He is a bachelor, but recommends who can to marry; may be himself soon find his Beatrice. As President of tJie Commission of the Budget, he has carried a resolution, recommending that for the fnture youing women be employed as telegraph clerks. : His recommendation is a latv. He is in favor of extending to woman aiUtherights she demands, save to her beoo'ming a senator; deputy, town councillor, w barrister. He might restore to her some of. fcer old rights byrecommeiiding that )jis countrymen should cease to perform *dx& duties of housemaids and laundresses. Efforts are being made to reconcile M. Gambetta and Marshal Macmahon. They have never met in their lives, and only Messrs Thiers and: Grevy, both patriarchs, stand up to the present between Gambetta. and the succession to.the Presidentship. Gambetta has commenced the overture by securing, a special credit of 300,000fr. as .official pocket-money for the Marshal; but the latter, swears by all the gods, big and little, that he will never invite the heir-apparent to the presidency to dinner till he.first executes the Icotou ceremony of attending one of the Marshal's official receptions as a preliminary, . The few able;, but not great men that France possessed 4ire dying off rapidly : after M. Bicafd, Casimir-Perier, both excellent * ' Republicans bv necessity." The ; latter oontHbutcd more than any other person to

found the present, Republican (Constitution of France, the''Hobson's choice between anarchy and lmperialis.ni, and when dying he might well borrow the words of an illustrious French general at Marengo, pronounced as he expired, " I regret I could do no more for France." What is peculiarly sad about M. Casunir-Perier's death is that he was on the high road to recovery, after having five weeks ago received the last rites of the Churoh, so desperate had been his attack of gout. A few days ago he drove to i the Bois de Boulogne, and drank a bowl of '■ fresh milk at the fancy Swiss dairy there,' which is dedicated to children, invalids' and, those desirous of longevity. The cold milk brought on a. reaction, anditraay.beeaid his death was sudden* A few hours after his dissolution M. Thiers called, and for an hour sat crying bteide the remains of hi* persoxiftUsd politic*! Wend,

One disadvantage in remaining in Paris daring the epoch of the dog days is, that the are rendered uncomfortable by the compulsory whitewashing of houses, or, what is still more trying, washing the facades with boiling water ; this perhaps the only "scouring" business done in the city, the laundry work being effected in the suburbs. Such is tho moment when a citizeness covets the complete bathing costume on show at the outfitter's, and longs to join some quadrille party among the waves. These hygenic operations compel one to patronise the pretty suburbs and the various beautiful forests ; on returning to town one can,agreeably finish the day by an open-air dinner in the Champa Elystes, to be followed by a concert. Kinking is impossible when the "thermometer is 'at boiling point, though one establishment is open all nigbt to suit passionate lovers of the rollers, and who can, either commence Jate or early in the morning. The best ventilated theatres are now adopting the plan of keeping open during the warm months. Actors find p, provincial does not jjay. Tiey go to perioral before country consins, and the latter arrive in Paris to witness the stars on their native heath,. The Grand Opera, which is a delightfully cool house, attracts more-by its splendid ballets than its operas. At the same time it is positively warm work to witness 'ballerines' living for like Mahomed's coffin, between heaven and earth, by methodical hops, steps, and jumps. Nothing can be more distressing, also, than the Danish girls in tho circus, who execute very graceful tableaux vivants ; but ho|nr the color does leave their cheeks ! It is remarked that the Americans did not keep their centennial in Puis as they could and ought to have done. .There was positively less external display than is common to an ordinary fourth of July in Paris. There was no public solemnity ; dinners at a few boarding-houses, the stars and stripes visible here and there. The Washington Club has become so economical that it could not afford the.expense, as in times gonia by, of a border of gas jets round its balcony. If the American Ministei did not give a dinner, he accepted one ; indeed a Ministerial Reception would not have been misplaced.: The only approach to a public ceremony? was by some .American teachers, and which the papers fairly reported. The Paris journals displayed more interest in the matter than did the American residents themselves, and the compjuison was very freely made that, under the Empire, the Americans jjelebrajted Independence greater' tctii than they do under the Republic. Lourdes has had a new kind of couronnement, that of ithe dedication of the : new cathedral which covers the miraculous grotto, where the Virgin is reputed tofhave appeared a few ago to-4 shepherdess. The event has been long looked forward to by a certain party in the Church, who unite the restoration of the temporal power and the advent of "Henri V. to the throne of France. The gathering comprised at one moment over IQo,ooo.persons, many of whom were attracted by curiosity; but it was observed there was nothing either popular or national in the movement. The pilgrirhs feel the political Bide ef their inspirations is complicated. The canticles ; executed were upon the old theme, that France in particular, and society in general, fjtre in a crisis, and only the Virgin can extricate both. The fete was truly magnificent, there were thirty-two bishops and their attendant ctergy, all in gorgeous canonicals, for there was a principal and fifteen minor altars to be consecrated. The Radicals maintain that France, is. a Messiah-peopl* in- point of humanity; the Ultramontanes, that she is such in point of religion ; so extremes meet. It is not so much God,. Divine Order, and Christian Revolution that the Jesuit fathers preached on the occasion, it was something more tangible and concrete. It was before and above all, the Church, then its two modern dogmas, then the apparition of the Virgin and her revelations. The crowd was calm and respectful, orderly, and attentive, but it would he' difficult to say what notions they brought away with them. The fact of an old woman, aged sixty-one, and a cripple of forty-four years' standing, throwing away her crutches and commencing to skip like a lamb, created a great sensation. If these cures could only be, more-numerous; but then the pool of Bethesda" was limited in efficacy. > Gossip is busy about a legal notice inserted in the paper* by Maurice Sand,' reminding all holders of his mamma's (late George Sand) letters, that they cannot publish such without first obtaining hj« percussion. This,' proceeding is causing many to halt in Ithe revised judgment they were in course; ©f making on the eminent novelist. It is iaid the Princesse Bauffremont, in order t'oiput an end to her law suit, intends to surrender all claim to her French estates. Thif, can be hardly called a sacrifice, seeing/that her pros-: Eerty is sequestered pending that yhe stands er trial for adultery. Ladies do not svm- i

pathise with her now. Cashmere, blue "or cream, -with faille to match, might be said to embody all that can be said about toilettes, bearing in mind*" -that the pattern is guided by the bearer's figure and taste. The simpler the costume is the better, and the more natural flowers are . employed. _the more*, fashion will be acknowledged. AgracefWlmorning business costume, for outdoor wear, is composed: of plain sea blue cashmere, long behind and short before, so as to be easily raised; a fichu of white linon knotting behinc I*, 1 *, garnished with a pretty plait, the hat in paillasson with a garland of buttercups. Among the general costumes observable are rose faille, with scarves and fringe 'of the same, color placed very Ipw on the jupon; grey pearl faille and rose make a charming mixture, the fichu and match; embroidered white t )nuslin scarveß, trimmed with Valenciennes; look very elegant over a pale blue faillo. There are also toilettes to be met with, entirely white or cream-colored, a mixture e£ faille and wool, and all but concealed by the Indian burnous and dolmans; small shawls, however, are the latest mode, and are made of cashmere or china crape, trimmed with fringe or lace. The Marie AmilU hat is coming into ]avor, and is so named after that of the, year 183(>'; next winter ft will 'be general, but for the moment the Gainsborough hat is in vogue, and is exclusively adapted for young and pretty faces. Riding-habits are made in light cloth, and which is more solid, the silk gentleman's hat ,is essential for Paris, but ]n country districts'the roendfelt hat-may be worn. Tyrol gloves must not be forgotten, nor the boot-straps for the pantaloons.

vi£ hj^ua « ke eper informs that pouring a little brandy in the gills of fish and over the body tends to keep it a long time fresh. Good perhaps whore icois absent.'-