Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa Territory [Iowa]) 1840-1846, 1846-04-25
An Anair at q Fair.

a correspondent Of the Courier deS EfdfS
GMis relates an incident which occurred
II Paris, and which caused quite talk in
the fashionable circles. A fair was got up
BY the ladies' fer.the benefit Of the Polish
Exiles. and many Of the most beautiful and
fashionable ladies in Paris tsok deep in
terest in the matter, and furnished articles
for sale OF acted as salesw omen on the oc-
scasion. Among the numerous useful and
ornamental articles offered for sale at one
Of the tables, was = simple yet elegant
Greek cap, trimmed with green ribbon.
L was not Of great value in itself. but
what gave il immense value IN the estima-
ton Of some persons was the label attach
ed to il, viz: .. Made and presented By Mad
ame de "" This lady was one Of
the most celebrated beauties in Paris
young, beautiful, witty, accomplished, and
ia widosci
The Greek cap, 50 neatly made and 50
tssttfaliy trimmed, soon at et The opening
of the Fair Attracted the n, tice Of a FASH
ianable lounger, who, after reading the la
bel, said 10 the LAZY shopkeeper, in voice
|irembling with emotion, Il will buy this
charming little cap, Madame, If you hay9
no objections What isthe price?"
Forty francs!'' replied with ssweet
smile the fashionable dame. Ills was
evidently high price for the article in
question. a9 'r'f's
The gentleman took out his purse to pay
tor the cap, when another admirer Of Mad
anne de N, who had come up Just in
time to witness the bargain, said, pointing
10 the cap, Il will give sixty francs Tor
it," .sls2gs
"very wells sir,"teplisd.the lady with
a smile, ''the bargain is not yet concluded
and the greater the sum receive for the
cap the better il will be for the poor Pc.
lish exiles.a
Eighty francs!" exclaimed the frs,
"Five louis d'orsl' said the new conner
without hesitation.
.One hundred and twenty francs! y
"Onc hundred and forty!'' 1.-TWO hun-
dred!" "Two hundred and fifty!'' "Three
hundred!' "Four hundred!" "Five hum
dred!" In word the bids ram rapidly to
one thousand francs for the little Greek
cap, so determined was each OF these gal
liant gentlemen TO secure the prize 10 him
self. The successful competitor was the
one who entered second in the list. He
carried off the dearly bought cap in tri-
umph.a \
In the evening Of the same day there
was a large and fashionable party assem-
bled at the rooms OF one Of the lady pat
ronesses of the Fair. The exulhng pur-
chaser Of the pretty cap was present along
with his vanqulshed competitor, who had
bid for it in the sum ,pf nineu hundred
francs. The beautiful Madame de N
was also there, as lovely and sprightly as
ever, and watching an opportunity when
she was surrounded by large number OF
persons, she said In her clear musical
voice to those around her, "Do you know
that my dear mo,hsr-in- law was quite for
tunate 10 day? An article Of trihing i'm
portance, of little value in itself,-which
was presented to the Polish Fair, sim
pie Greek cap, trimmed by her own hands,
was sold for the enormous SUM oil one
thousand francsi" ..n
Our readers will imagine the mortifica-
ton Of The lucky purchaser Of the cap
when they are informed that there were
two ladies' known by the same name,
Madame de N, widows both; che.
young and thatming-the other had been
50 in former years. but was now nearly
=, = ~ ycarS NJ aUpl 8Ht#t#s
With that air OF cruel raillery which la
dies so well know how to assume towards
those of their admirers whose attentions
are unwelcome, the beautiful Madame de
n, turning towards the proud posses
sof Of the cap said:
.Undoub,edly, sir. you had particular
and weighty reasons for putting so high a
&alue on the haniiwork Of my fhs therein
law. Your affections are most worthily
placed, and believe me, | will gladly do all
in my power to promote your snit. Youn
pre,ensions do honor to our family, and ]