The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-12-24
An Incident In Fashion able Life some
Eighteen Years Axo.

| to my mind a story told by an old revolutionary
officer upon a lady OF his acquaintance who -four
shed about eighteen to twenty years ago. whose
sole ambition to be called a fashionable, and
treated one of the ie grande monde. The old
officer who related the story fine specimen of
the old school, though most amiable man, and be-
loved by all who knew him; yet he took particular
pleasure in telling this story, for he had perfect
disgust for everything that had the appearance of
pretension, and he always appeared much delighted
when it received check; he used to say it was a
bad example for the young folks to see so much
pretension in older people.
His story was something TO the following Of
| fect:--
| After the revol luton of rs, society changed on
rey its aspect; those were admitted into good so
Getty who had never been admitted before and by
| degrees this privilege gained ground, and at the
| breaking ont of the war of 1872, it was by no
means difficult for the successful tradesman to OBJ
| tam an entree INTO the first circles, privilege
which could not possibly have been granted before
the revolution sBefore that great event there exist
ed, as there exists in all colonies, more exclusive
ness than ever there existed in the mother country,
arising no doubt, from their position in society not
| being so well defined. The war of 1872, which
threw the thoughts OF men into other channels, had
fatal influence upon society, and il not until
about year after the treaty of peace, that society
appeared to recover ITSELF but it developed the
fact, that the "nobodys' as they then called.
| OF the then relgning arstocracy; for though most
OF this latter class was composed of the descendants
! OF, and partakers in the revo luton, yet there
much of the old Tory spirit of exclusiveness exist
| ing amongst them, and they always resisted, an
much as they were able. the admance of a :" no
| body" into their circle
| About this time there arrived, from one Of the
southern cities, lady whom the old officer recol-
| lected, as once keeping small store with her mo-
| Their, in the same town, where his father had his
plantation, and who passed by the nickname OF
| hln Drata nnxayo rtxyaA IN hnrh
| band to play part in the fashionable circles OF
New York. The old colonel was bewdered when
| he saw such display OF wealth by one whom he
| knew only few years before to have been pennl-
| less. But the enigma explained. She
| had married young tutor from one of the neigh
boring cities, who was not In much better circum-
stances than herself, but who had had the good luck
to attract the notice of a very influential man, and
who was at that time in the very height of his po-
pularity. The young tutor gaming upon the conn.
| dence of his employer, installed into several
| lucrative posts and at length became very rich
man. The wife, or as she was called in her native
| town, Dame Pretenslon, came to New York medi-
tanng, great things. She had visited Europe, OBJ
taineda smattering of French, and rubbed off lit
tie OF the vulgariy which she had contracted in her
youth. The position of her husband had given her an
entrke into of the best society in Paris and Lon
and when she returned to her native country she
set up as fine lady, giving herself all the airs and
graces, without possessing particle of the dignity
of European ladies'. The society of New York re-
| ceived her with caution and distrust she had the
tact 70 perceive that she was not going to carry all
before her, as she had predicted to herself, when
leaving Europe. To her utter dlsmay, she found
that there We're those in society who had had supe
rior advantages to her in their intercourse with Eu
ropean society, and who had the more nestimable
advantages OF good education, good manners,
and gentle blood Bnt she had wealth, and though
she had nothing else to recommend her, she thought
she could push her way into the circles she aspired
| to by that means alone. She made great display
| she took fine house in Broad street, q beieve)
then the centre of fashion, and began to give small
| parties as sort OF feeler. Succeeding tolerably
well in this, she established the arstocratc fashion
| of receiving visits once week, which was very
| much rldiculed al the time even by her own
friends and many bon mot was perpetrated at the
expense of Dame Pretenson; but she cared not.
Her next step was TO have each visiteT's name
| nounced which was, and is the custom of Europe.
This considered by the then relgning aris-
tocracv as high handed piece OF impudence, but
| she triumphed.
| Success had made her, as it makes all who rise
SO suddenly, proud and naughty which made her
still more dlsaseful to those she was associating
| with She had seen much of society since her ar
| rival in this city, yet it had not been able to wipe
off certain vulgar tone of manners which stuck to
| her in spite OF all her assumed dignity. She had
been received by most of the aristocracy of wealth
and by a few of the older aristocracy, between
whom, though they received one another, there
| existed deadly hatred.
Having accomplished so much, Dame Pretenson
| now resolved that she would lead the fashion and
| not follow it, she had heretofore done, and in
| order TO accomplish this she determined upon a
most dangerous experiment, g cup day man. as
she called It,, meaning coup dc man, and here
| finished her brief and melancholy career. Her coup
de main to divide her acquaintance into two
| parties and she divided them-not according to
their education, their birth, but by the display
| they made in the word-those who made tho
greatest display she called the fashionables," and
very many of this party, be 1t observed had come to
their wealth by highway robbery on the high seas
| in the late war, politely called "privateerng, and
by gambling in the stocks; the second party with
| whom she would very willingly have dropped ac-
quaintance, but the time had not yet arrived for
such a step, she called nobodys" She now ssu-
ed four hundred cards of invitation to her tashon-
ables," neglectlng to invite those she styled no.
bodys." The supper was the most magnificent that
had ever been seen in New Yofk; the tables abso-
| luely groaned under the exravagant profusion.
As there had been but three or four refusals, she
expected very large attendance, and every thing
that vulgar wealth could do was done on thus occa-
| sion. But woman was ever doomed to greater
| disappointment. This was to have been the
| night when all her fond hopes were to have been
realized and her most ambitious designs consum-
| mated.
But eight o'clock struck and not soul had
| rived-nine, ten, and there were but about forty
persons assembled, two thirds OF whom were gen
tlemen who had no doubt heard OF the excellent
| supper prepared and not standing upon punctli-
Gus difference OF rank, had come to partake OF a
good repast.
Her modification was complete; the news ran
round the town IN a few hours--it was the town
talk for many days and those who had visited her
did nothing but rldicule her; saying she was an
| old fool for her pains.
But her modification did not end here When the
noise which the failure of her ball created, hsi
somewhat subsidized, she ventured another tri.i.
by issuing about the number of cards to the
whom she had foolishly neglected to invite 20
| her first party.
But there were but about dozen persons found
mean enough to accept her invitation, and this
| the final scene of this pdrrenu the fashionable
| boards. few months after she left New York for
| France, where she remained for about two years.
On her return to this city she endeavored by every
means in her power to get readmited into society,
but to the honor of the society of eighteen years
ago, be it said, she did not succeed The old Colo
mel used to say that had society overlooked the
conduct of this would-be- fashionable, hundred
such parUenus would have sprung up to enact simi.
lar scenes, and that in all his experience of actual
life he had never met with story from which a