The of the Carnival at
Paris are said to have been more brilliant than usual.
The Empress's ball was, of course, the most magnificent.
One millinery establishment alone made costumes for that to the extent of $200,000, and yet this store did but a small part of the costuming.
The
Paris correspondent of the New York
Express says:
‘
At this ball, which was private, and to which invitations were made directly by the
Empress the following
Americans were invited, which was a very large list in view of the limited number of persons at the ball:
Mrs. Dayton in robs of antique and powdered hair:
Miss Dayton, as Red Riding
Hood,
Mrs. Ridgway of
Philadelphia; in
Mme. Pilis.
of New Orleans, powdered hair,
Miss lunnis
King of
Georgia, Undue,
Mrs. Penniman, of New York;
Miss Penniman,
Ophella,
Mrs. Moutton, (
Miss Greenough, of
Cambridge, Mass.,) in Salansander; the
Viscountess de Gabriel, (Miss Pollen, of New York,) Hungarian costume;
Mrs. Eustis, (
Miss Corcoran, of
Washington)
Miss Eusta, of
Louisiana;
Mrs. Butterfield, of New York;
Mrs. Dr. Thomas W. Evans, of
Paris; Miss Willing of
Philadelphia; the Countless de Mollae, (
Miss Hutton, of New York,) in Marchlockes, covered with diamonds; and the
Countess de Canay, (
Miss Eldgway, of
Philadelphia)
The American ladies, as those of your readers will see who are acquainted with them, were chosen by her Majesty, not only on account of their high position of French society, but also for their general personal beauty and well-known taste in dress.
It was an occasion for the display of all the wealth in diamonds and other precious stones of which each was possessed; for, while it is bad taste to make an inordinate display of diamonds on ordinary occasions, a costume ball admits, any extravagance in this line the wearer chooses to make.
The Empress represented on this occasion the wife of a Doge of
Venice of the sixteenth century, and were all the crown jewels.
She was literacy in diamonds.
The
jupe was black velvet, over a robs of scarlet satin, bearing casualties of diamonds.
The imperial
Prince, dressed in black velvet knee breeches, and
Venetian mantle, was present, and danced twice — once with the Princess Anna Kurat, and once with
Mile de Chateaubourg His dance with his cousin the Princess Anna, created no little amusement, for while the
Prince is only seven years old, and of course, very short for a ball room performance, his partner was princely in dimensions as well as in titles.
The Princess Mathilde Bonaparte Was in the costume of Anne of Cleves, of Holbein, and wore the whole of her famous collection of emeralds.
The Princess Bonaparte with the hair frosted, had also copied a picture from the Louvre, and her robe of braggart glistened like a rising sun. The Princess Gabriella (sugus the Bonaparte) was in
Syrian costume.
The Princess de Matternich in Eight, illuminated with diamonds.
The Countless
Walewski in
Amazon Louis X. V., powdered hair, corn colored robe, gold buttons.
The
Belle I alien
Countess Castiglione, dressed in a costume remarkable for its want of costume, was the hit of the evening.
She was dressed as "Selammbo," copied from the new Carthaginian romance of
Gustave Faubert author of
Madame Bovary.
Marked arms and shoulders, short dress, and feet naked in sandals, dress of black velvet, falling straight, with a long train, which latter was borne by the young
Count de Choiseul, who in turn, had his face blackened to represent an Egyptian page, and who, besides carrying the train of the famous daughter of Hamilear, held over her head an umbrella of the genuine
Robinson Crusoe dimensions.
The superb
Carthagenoize were on her head a diadem of gold; her robe, which was without a waist, was held by a rich clasp of diamonds, and was copied exactly after the floating tunics worn by the women of the upper classes in the period of Carthaginian history in which Selammbo lived.
She promenaded not on the arm of the faithful
Mathe of the romance, but on that of the
Count Walewski, who delivered her over to the
Emperor, and who, in turn, left her to enjoy a long and close conversation with the young
Chevalier , Italian Ambassador at
Paris.
The "surprise" of the evening was the ‘"
Quadrille des Aheilles. "’ At 12 o'clock several large bee hives were carried in by villagers in the costume of Wattean's pictures, and from them issued a charming and graceful swarm of bees among whom were the
Princesses Troubetskei and
Dolgorouk!, Madlles Bearnard,
Coppens, Magnan, Do Tascher, Do
Vatry, Kindiakoff, Erraza, Peretra, dressed in golden corsage and shining wings, and who at once proceeded to dence the quadrille, which had been arranged and taught them for the occasion by Merante, of the
Grand Opera.
’
