Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-03-17
LYNCHBURG SATURDAY MORNING. MAR r. 1883.
DAILY NRGINIAN.

PARIsIAN Bal MAsQuEs,-A Paris letter wri-
ter says:
went in company with a friend to Musards
Bal Masque'S et Trdresti. at the Theatre ltnlien.
These are things that person in Paris during
the Carnival, can scarcely he blamed for visiting
once, merely out of curiosity He must have
most deprnved taste who would desire tn go again.
The placards which adorn every dead wall, inform
YOU that the entrance OF ladies' il free on the in
dlspenslble condition that they go masked, and
gentlemen may enter On the payment of five francs
Any costume is allowable, the more ontre the
better except cap on gentleman, which must
be replaced by some sort of II hat. We found
tho A"or covered with pcoplce-one half of males,
like ourselves mere spectators IN plain clothes,
the rest, with the women, in every conceivable
variety OF ntre. Rrignnds, peasants. monks, sol
dlers OF every arm; Indians honid with punt,
cock $ feathers and nose rings; girls with their
hnir powdered III the style of the last century;
with female and women with mnlo apparel, all
dancing III the most ridiculous manner, oonstltu-
ted scene which one must visit Paris to see,
but which of itself would scarcely repay such
visit. May it be long before such riot of license
aud lust shall be transferred to the virgin soil of
Amorcal The mask is II piece of paste board
covered with silk generally black with holes for
the eyes, receptacle for the nose, and with
without n pendant of silk to hide the rest of the
incc. In the hent of the dancing it not unfro.
quently fell off displaying sometimes very con.
siderable beauty. which would have been more
attractive destitute of the air ofholiness that
oompaned IT, Tho wcnrers, like most French
women, were chiefly small and some of them
quite young-indecd, not more than Ii or L.
Who they are, nnd what their occupation, il is
unnecessary 10 nsk. II their presence there
could leave any doubt on the subject their scan
dalous costumes, in somo instances. Turkish
trowsers scarcely reaching to the knee, and com
mencing sufficiently low in the neck. and the lib
erty they indulged would suffice to dispe il.
The orchestra consisting of near n hundred
musicians, kept II constant succession of Quad-
rifles, altzes Polkas, Solfpttisohs, and Roduwns
AS the name of one of which, La Tuiipe Ora
geouSe, the stormy tulip, suggests the character
| The Quadrille. instead of the quiet aud orderly
thing we knew il, pnrtakes of the character of the
Waltz tho man lifts his partner in his arms and
ShiIls her round. The other dances are equal
congregations of those practiscd with All
this is under the immediate surveillance of the
police who, in their uniforms, with the arms of
the city embroidered on the collar, and sword at
the belt were protusoly scattered about the room
Yet no interference WAS attempted, not oven in
scutllo between one of the dancers and n spectn-
tor, who considered himself agrieved. Every
tmng WAS allowed To take its course. could
not he thinking that little of the care which
the uunipreseAt government hestuws to prevent
the entrance Of an obnoxious article into the
new -papers, would not be nmiss here Such is n
masked ball. II is thoroughly disgusting; and
nter the first sensation of novelty is over, tire.
some affair. came away with the unsatisfncto
~ reelection that had lost day; yet not emit
rely because il give me souo faint idea of the
corruption which pcrYaded the highest society
IN the days or Louis Fifteenth. and precipinted
tho revolutions; similar state of things during
the decndcnco fthc Roman Empire; aud to go
farth back still Of Belshaz1ar's feast during
which the dreadful handwriting appeared upon
the wall announcing his approaching fall