The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-11-21

play might not be so wide of the truth when
he explains his aversion for Sir Ronald, on the
ground that he liked not the cut OF his
breeches'
How great an empire this belief had gained
over Mr.. Marcys mind, at the time he was ap-
pointed Secretary of State, may be readily In
ferred from his circular letter to the United
States Consuls, on the subject of diplomatic
uniforms. Count D'Orsay laid great stress
on his agents being on all occasions par
faitement gantfs ct bottles: Mr.. Marcy's
weakness lies in the opposite direction. He
was for plainness, simplicity, and total alb
sence of all show. He did not precisely advise
the consuls to give the preference to 'pants"
which had suffered on corduroy roads; this
delicate point was left to their tact and dis
erection. But one can readily see that our re-
preventative at Paris could have found no surer
road to Mr. Marcy's heart than by presenting
himself at the Tuileries in q short-tailed coat,
displaying to full view fac-simile Of the his
torical ''patch."
The despatch on uniforms was not an Isolated
movement in the desired direction. Care was
taken by the Secretary to Undue all his
foreign ENJOYS with his notions in this
respect. Committees on coat tails sat regu-
larry at the Office of State; petitions pro
and con on the subject Of buttons were laid on
the table; and we may fairly suppose
that neither the breeches-pocket interest nor
the high-collar faction were unrepresented at
the conclave. Perfect unanimity was not to be
expected on topics of such vast moment and
extensive scope. 1t is unlikely that the strug-
gle between contending impulses for and
against embroidered lappels, trousers, straps,
and braces was terminated peaceably; and to
this fact do we owe it that no formal decree has
been promulgated on the subject. Enough was
i'd however, to impress deeply on the minds
of all cur foreign ministers the paramount i'm
portance of attending to their dress. They left
us convinced that whatever errors ofpolicy they
might commit, they must avoid errors of attire;
and with whatever incongruities of speech they
might be charged, they must place it beyond
the power Of the most malicious to accuse them
Of incongruities of costume.
We are already in position to Judge both Of
the admirable wisdom of the Secretary's ad-
vice, and of the docile character Of his appoint
ees. The most notable event in Mr.. Soule's re-
ception by the Queen Of Spain is the effect pro-
duced by his "black velvet suit la Franklin,
richly embroidered" The Queen,we are told, was
quite taken aback when she saw him, and drove
half a score ofjealous courters crazy with envy
by expressing her admiration in the language
OF connoisseur. Is it possible to be blind to
the Importance of such an event as this? Why
the battle for Cuba is already half gained by
the black velvet. Mr.. Soule has only to exhi-
bit some fresh instance ofhis taste-to try buck
ram, for example-and the Queen of the Antil-
les is ours, solely through Marcy's sagacity and
SoulG's promptitute of conception. Then, at
Paris, our present representative, Mr.. Sand
ford, is producing an impression hardly less ef-
fective by his style Of dress. Louis Napoleon
has seen it, and rushed through crowd of
courtiers to shake him by the hand in conse-
quence IF Mr. Sanford had thought Of selling
the moment when the Emperor's eye was fixed
upon his black satin waistcoat and broadcloth
inexpressbles, he might have obtained remis-
sion of at least one-half the tonnage and port
dues on our ships. Who knows but he did?
It is a matter Of deep regret that our infor-
nation with respect to the dress adopted by our
other ambassadors is more limited and less
official. Under our present system of diplo-
macy, the cut of our ENJOYS coat is the key to
his position and prospects Marcy ought to
have thought Of this, and allayed the anxiety
Of an uneasy people by issuing official procla-
nations describing the costume worn by all
our foreign ministers There is Mr., Belmont,
for instance, who appears to have got into a
scrape in Holland. Now. if we knew precisely
how he was dressed when he was presented to the
Queen Of Holland, we could, according to the
Marcy rule, understand the nature Of the diff
Guilty, and speculate shrewdly on our chances of
success. Unfortunately, our information on the
point is limited to the fact that he wore black
velvet. Black velvet is undoubtedly sugges-
tive theme, pregnant with thought to ingenious
minds. But still, we ought to know how it
was cut whether it, too, was q la Franklin
or whether, indulging a more poetic fancy, Mr.
Belmont had
Got him sleeves like demicannons-
All up aud down, carved like an apple cart
With snip, and nip, and GU, and slsh and slash,
Like to a censor in BARRIERS shop;
HldIy, WuctucI, INC ooulc, uc Aau
wished to blend historic associations with pre-
sent purposes, and had contrived a composite
STYLE partly derived from the old burghers of
Amsterdam and partly from the brokers in
Wall street. We should like to know whether
some Israelitish remniscence--a mere phylac-
tory, for instance-was not allowed place.
Mr.. Marcy will order these things better in
future, we trust; and if our foreign ministers
are hidden to regard their costume as the most
important part Of their baggage the people
will not be left in the dark as to It's character
It is due to us that their wardrobe should DO
published from time to time in the Union.
THE MORAL SYSTEM OF PROGRESSED POLITE
c1ANs-Every now and then the morals of
politics show the cloven foot when the public
least expect the exhibition There is journal