LADIES’ LETTER FROM PARIS.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 547, 20 March 1876, Page 4

LADIES’ LETTER FROM PARIS.

(From a correspondent of the Press.')

Paeis, January 22. French ladies would be fully justified in calling an indignation meeting to protest against two torments—the elections and the thaw. The frost held out some prospect of amusement, a compensation for the disorganisation produced in the fashionable worm by all the gentlemen being engrossed either fn making themselves, or unmaking others, Senators and deputies. There was a time in the history of France when attentions towards ladies dominated even Stale affairs, and battles were undertaken to amuse them, and ministers thwarted to afford them excitement and pleasure. Now all is changed; the aspirations of modern ladies are disposed of by a two-franc telegram, and their calculations upset by a postal card. Politics usurp the place of love, for not only have men not the time to propose, but those engaged to be married defer the ceremony to a more convenient season. Four days’ calisthenic exercise on the ice is not much out of the 365 or 6 ; then the prospect of a fur masked ball, and a collation -cold of course, at one in the morning, with the pocket thermometer—for that was as an essential breloque as tin case hot water mittens—marking twenty degrees below freezing point, was a sensation of no ordinary kind, A fog arrived expressly from the Thames, dissolved those prospects so charming, and was sufficient to justify the platonic alliance with Russia, in order to secure for France the benefit of the favored nation clause respecting her Siberian climate. Some very pretty costumes had been provisionally commanded, and though in plain fur clothes, it would require a Green, Lap, or other “ lander” to distinguish the sexes. For the sake of the poor, who were to enjoy the receipts, it is to be regretted the intended midnight skaters did not send their subscriptions all the same. During the day a military band performed music under difficulties, and even the fl Esquimaux quadrilles” were announced, and dedicated to Captain Nairnes and his *• Boys in Blue.” You know we have a skating rink to fall back upon ; it is a winter garden, with a tropical zone temperature and Icelandic vegetation. The only flowers, excluding the ladies themselves, consist of the hand bouquets sold at the doors for two sous each ; the skaters roll along on wheels, save when the roulettes cry out for oil and the machine threatens to take fire. The possibility of being consumed on a pair of such skates ought to be noted oy the Accidental Insurance Company, The first thing performers do on entering the ring is to strip for the work, a fashion common to other rings also ; then is the moment for getting a glimpse at the latest fashion. It is not the less strange to see the rage for wearing furs in an atmosphere where the solid flesh threatens to melt; the ladies and gentlemen “ round about the cauldron go,” for the asphaltum floor recalls the inside of a monster pot. Sherry cobblers are the favorite refreshments, sipped through a Belgian straw; ices of course are banished in order to maintain the illusion. It is curious to note how well ladies, of what an evil world calls “ uncertain age,” roll along in maiden meditation, fancy free, stately as an East Indian clipper under full sail. The married Teazles say their sisters are in search of that other Cherub, which Plato or some other divine philosopher states, parted from us at our birth. Lamartine has always been a favorite with the ladies, and so they will be glad to hear he is to have a monument in Paris, near the Hotel de Yille, where his Ministerial life began and ended; instead of expounding his claims for such an honor on the grounds of being a charming poet and exquisite writer his politics are thrust forwaid. By all accounts he failed as a statesman, and he constantly deplored having ever attempted to govern his fickle countrymen; his worst enemy was himself, and his extravagance and neediness were the gossip of France for years; after spending his own fortune, he squandered that of his wife. But when were poets ever renowned for book-keeping, save Victor Hugo, who, it is said, makes a memoranda of every sous as he does of all his thoughts. Hugo has again suddenly reappeared as a politician, and has dedicated a proclamation to the French people, just like Marshal Macmahon. He wants his countrymen to rally to Republic which is the representative of. all the virtues, and a desire for which comes to man, like as Dogberry observed of reading and writing, by nature. He would indeed deserve a statue before his death, or to have a whole Boulevard named after him, could he convert his fellow-countrymen to love some one form of government and put an end to the horrible family broils. Hugo commenced life as a staunch follower of the Comte de Chambord, when that monarch was most merry—viz , in his swaddling clothes. The theatres are struggling hard against the bad times the election fever—which may be the prelude to other plagues ; it is reported that during the severe frost complimentary admissions were never so numerous, in order to warm the house and fire the actors. The occasion was not badly selected to bring out the famous Russian drama, “ Danieheff,” where the gentlemen are in furs, and the ladies in hothouses. The play undoubtedly draws, because Alexandre Dumas has polished it, and the subject reveals Russian society, concerning which Frenchmen had no idea; they believed all Russians to be Princes, all their ladies politicians and cardplayers, that they had the diamonds of Golconda at their beck, and that, when naughty, they were sent to Siberia to graduate for the other world. An old Duchess, as absolute as Catherine 11., in order to prevent her only son marrying a pel •erf, wheedles him away for a twelvemonth, and instantly marries the girl to her coachman. Now this Jehu regards the wedding only as a nominal transaction, and preserving the bride for his young master, becomes monk in order to dissolve his union. What an amelioration for Parisians if a few hundreds of cabmen would similarly enter into orders. But I forget the incidents of the drama, the young Comte Danicheff’s declaration, that his countrymen will be ever ready to help the French, if attacked by wild beasts ; such an offer of protection is naturally applauded, and the stamping on the floor is not a bad exercise when men wear coats and mufflers in the pit. Perhaps this sympathy on the part of the Cossack is reciprocated by the increased rage of the ladies to wear furs for imitation is the most successful mode of flattery. Be this as it may, no dress appears to be en bonne regie that is not largely mmed with furs, irrespective of the natural heaviness of materials. Perhaps it is to the weather we are indebted for the adop tion of chin bandages with bats ; from these tp barhet, in black tulle and lace, is but a

natural step, and strings follow as a matter of course ; the latter are in ribbon assorted to the bonnet, and the ends when tied ought not to be longer than nine inches. At the opera, hats in rose tulle or pale blue, with harbes to match, present a very elegant appearance. Lace is the rage, a mixture of black and cream color being most in favor ; to produce this desirable shade, cream, laundresses replace the blue by water colored with clear coHee, and so the white becomes transformed. It is not to be understood that white lace is discarded ; it is to be met with as fichus, or scarves for evening toilettes, and with black Spanish or the fashionable light coffee shade, is employed for trimming velvet as well as silk. Thus employed for the Jew tunic, it is a means elegant and practical for rejuvenating purposes. thc| Jew form can be well adapted to transparent gauze, light tarlatans, embroidered tulle, &c. Indeed nothing can be more charming than a Jew tunic of white tarlatan, plaited, and .worn over a rose faille robe. Neigcuse is the name of a new material ; it is a coarse woollen, with a kind of nap on a white ground to represent snow. The polonaise marches from success to success; it bids fair to become an indispensable, because it is not only simple and elegant, but presents the advantage, that whether made up in cloth or velvet, it shows off the gracefulness of the figure. There is no change in hats. They are so be met with in cream felt, sea blue and black velvet, the foliage is in velvet to match ; a large ribbon encircles the border, knotting behind, the feathers surround the shape, or fall directly from the front backwards. The velvet spencer has manv admirers ; it is made separately from the rest of the toilette, and can be clear or sombre colored, according to taste. This corsage is low bodied and square, its borders covered with cream colored lace, with inside fichu of tulle, same shade as the lace. It is in vogue at the theatres. Paris cannot be said to have any balls at prea-nt, so the evening parties are called raonts. It seems it would be something like sacrilege to enjoy life when the nation is solemnly occupied manufacturing legislators. It is then among the foreigners who colonise the city that entertainments take place, and where it is necessary to demand a “ Mirth, admit one of thy crew.” The Americans are foremost in dinners and balls, and force the contagion to spread. They have also introduced, and successfully, their rosebud parties,” limited to happy girls in their early teens, and that no adult eye is supposed to regard, save by stealth, or behind a screen. The Russians prefer suppers to dinners or dancing parties, and cards to music or conversation. They lose a great deal of money over a rubber, but generally the proceeds of the pool are devoted beforehand to some fixed end. Many marriages are taking place this season among Russian society, and when such is announced, the Greek Church is besieged by flaneurs in advance. The ceremony pleases the spectators very much ; on arriving on the threshold of the Church, the Pope blesses the bride and bridegroom, places in their hands a taper, and when rings are exchanged, the procession passes inside the edifice; pending the ceremony the young couple place crowns on one another’s heads, drink out of a cup of wine three times, each being accompanied with a shake of the hand; then succeeds another procession, where the couple march hand in hand. At this stage two pigeons are set at liberty ; this is said to be an indication of wealth. On quitting the church the happy pair embrace on the steps ; the rings are in different metals gold for the man, to show his superiority, afld silver for the woman. It is said the Czar only can authorise a divorce. The movement set on foot to form sewing parties among French ladies has failed. This might have been anticipated ; such an institution is foreign to the very nature of French women. They love gossip, chat, scandal, to go to theatres, to promenade in the Bois, to kill time at the pastrycooks, or talk chiffons with modistes. As a rule, everything in the way of work that can be given out is studiously given ; home, where it exists, is a castle of indolence, where a lotus-kind of life is led, mixed with the stimulant of some intrigue. In this respect, and the class of well-to-do society to which these remarks apply, there is an immense amount of valuable womanpower running to waste that might be applied by forming some of those associations that exist in other countries to occupy the hours of the unoccupied ; daughters have never been shown the example, and we cannot expect it from them when they became wives ; when girls, their whole attention is directed to appehr wholly ignorant of the world, and to remain the convent pupil until provided with a husband, and mothers take good care beforehand that the bond shall contain no clause that would fetter the do-nothingness of their daughters when elevated to reign over a home of their own. This state of things may explain the very little happiness to be found in French marriages, and were it not for the Mahomedan kind of resignation both parties render to their fate, and the little respect paid to them if the seek a separation, the institution of marriage would be seriously compromised. To leave each other free, so long as no scandal can be reproached to either, and no act committed to publicly shock the proprieties of home, such is the maxim acte I upon in French married life, and when separations cannot be avoided, rest assured Dante had no horror equal to what that dog and cat life must have been before peace was declared to be impossible. These reflections are suggested by the demand of General Douay to be separated from his wife, the daughter of a distinguished general; she had the habit to leave her home for two or three days at a time, travelling from one end of the country to the other ; she left by a window, and entered through it by means of a step ladder, and when her husband reproached her, she applied a horsewhip vigorously across his shoulders. There is a story going the rounds at the expense of a well-known financier, on whom Napoleon 111. conferred, not nobility, but a title; he was humourously upbraided as to the antiquity of his greatness, and seriously explained that the reason why his ancestors were not at the Crusades, was in consequence of their being Protestants ; and while on religious topics I may be permitted to observe on the latest fashions, that the foreign Protestant clergy, by common accord, wear billycock hats. “ Chacun son govt, and the flock will be well guarded.”

Mr Millais is reported to be painting a large landscape depicting a scene a little north of Birnam Wood, Celebrated in the tragedy of" Macbeth,”

It is stated that Mr Gladstone has in the press a new book which will be entitled “ The Time and Place of Homer in History.” “ A Life of Commodore Goodenough,” by Mr Clements Markham, is announced for publication by Messrs J. Griffin and Go, who are also preparing for publication “ The West Coast of Africa,” as seeu from the deck of a man-of-war, by the late Commander Hugh McN. Dyer, R.N., of her Majesty’s ship Torch. The art of flower painting has just sustained a loss in the death of Mrs Mary Harrison, whose roses, violets, and primroses were much admired for many years at the exhibitions of the Institute of Painters in Water Colour. She was born in Liverpool in 1788, and was engaged on a sketch only four days before the termination of her long life. The following are some of the most recent items of literary gossip :—Miss Cracroft, a niece of Sir John Franklin, is writing the lives of her uncle and of Lady Franklin. Mr Richard, M.P., is engaged in preparing Mr Cobden’s letters for publication. A new novel by the author of the “ Heir of Redclyffe” is in the press, and will be ready at Christmas. It is entitled, “ Young Alcides ; or, a Faded Photograph.” Miss Braddon is busy at work upon her thirtieth novel. It will be entitled “ Joshua Haggard’s Daughter.” Mr MacGahan, author of “Campaigning on the Oxus,” who accompanied Captain Young on his late Arctic Expedition, is preparing an account of the voyage under the title of “ Under the Northern Lights ; the Cruise of the Pandora to Peel’s Strait in search of Sir John Franklin’s papers.” It is said that M. Thiers’s “ Memoirs,” on which he is now engaged, will fill sixteen volumes. The widow of M. E. Quinet is preparing for the press a posthumous work by that writer.