The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-02-13 00:00:00

GRAND BALL IN PARIS.

A grand Ball was given in the New Paris Opera
House, in Paris, on Sunday night, for the benefit of
the poor of the city. It is estimated, that about nine
thousand persons were present. Among the company
were Madame MacMahon, the Queen of Spain, the
Comte and Comtesse de Paris, the Minister of the
Interior, &c. The receipts amounted to 150,000 francs
(£6,000).

An" Occasional Correspondent " of the Daily News, writing
from Paris, on Monday, gives the following description of
the Ball
The Bal de l'Opera will profit much to the poor of
Paris. When I came away this morning the boarded-
over pit and stage, the boxes, the vestibules, and the
saloon were so filled that overflowing was out of the
question. There was, in a general way, no getting
in or out. A solitary individual might, and that
with persevering elbow work, make his entrance
or his exit. It was announced that the tickets
sold for the benefit of the soup kitchens
would be limited to 8,000. But this did not in-
clude the orders, which I have no doubt covered
another thousand. The doors were not opened until
• eleven o'clock. A strong police force kept the foot-
way, encircling the Opera House, clear. Rigorous
orders were given not to allow queues to form about
the doors. Ticket holders were obliged to stand on
the side of the Rue Auber, next the Grand Hotel,
where I should say there were several thousands
waiting for the clock to strike the hour when they
might penetrate through the thick, dark line of police
men. Numbers of ladies, in ball dresses, in dominoes
and masks, stood patiently out in the cold, until the
doors were opened, when they rushed forward, many
of them pressing on more rapidly than was con-
venient for their cavaliers. General Chabaud-
Latour, with a domino noir leaning on his arm,
was one of the first to enter. A vast
number of persons came more to see the
Opera House than the masquerade, which must
have appeared a. dull enough affair to any one
who had passed a Carnival in no matter what part
of Italy. Fashionable ladies in ball dresses were
numerous. Some wore masks, and others went with-
out. The patronesses of the ball mixed freely with the
crowds in the pit and saloon. Madame MacMahon
was at the ball, but she did not Sit in the State box,
and was so well disguised that nobody recognised her
beyond those intimate friends who knew exactly what
she was to wear. The Queen of Spain and her
daughters were dressed in black, with mantillas and
masks trimmed with deep black lace borders, com-
pletely hiding their faces. Whatever dancing
there was, was evidently performed by paid
dancers, who having received instructions to
go through their steps decently and in order were
scarcely in the diapason of the gay music. In the.
different parts of the laouse there were at the out-
side twenty couples in movement. Plump pages in
raedimval costumes footed it with pierrots and jesters,
to the lively strains of the orchestra, which Strauss in
person directed. Gentlemen were privileged to wear
their hats. Those who did not profit by the licence
were quite exceptional. It was a pity the density of
the crowd prevented the toilettes of women of fashion'
from being seen, except on the stairs, where certainly
flowing robes appeared to great advantage. The
brilliant hues of the dresses, the dominoes, and the
masked faces formed,: Nhen seen ,from the loggia
of the landing-place, a brilliant picture'. 'Amonk
the nine thousand persons who were at last night's
bal masque there were a considerable number who
had been on previous occasions at the New Opera
House. I was not surprised to hear that even
such short acquaintance wAh M, Glamier's architectural