Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-04-24
Italian Manners.
IHastratioas Of English Social Habits in
Florence Est

Florence, Thursday, Feb. 8, 1855
| mentioned lately that English fashionable soci-
ETY. IN Florence s notorious in Europe for the
Der of loose ladies OF title and compromised females
Of rank It admits into its circle said that for this
reason the more staid and respectable English res
idents avoid the acquaintance of their unscrupu-
lous countrymen, and seek rather that of the
Americans, who furnish a very small quotum to-
wards the grand total of abandoned wives in Flor
ence. Last week a ball was given by an English
man, where, for some reason that cannot explain,
all the shades of opinion and manners met as upon
| neutral ground Never yet having Witnessed such
| spectacle, never having imagined that ever
should witness such an one, think that a nara
| tive of my experience viii be as novel to you as
the experience itself was startling to me- | have
perhaps seen as bad at palaces and at court balls
but never at private house, where the master has
complete control over the selection Of his guests
! and the giving Of his invitations.
| The respectable portion of the company came
early--that is, from ten to halfpast Taken at this
hour, the ballroom presented very proper aspect
| OF decency and animation. But anon the scene
| changed An avalanche Of disreputable women Of
the highest fashion was loosed upon the unoffend-
| ing dancers. They seemed to have timed their ar
rival together SO as to keep each other in counte-
nance aud outnumber decent people, II they could
There was Lady Caroline Messmate U disguise
their names,) pensoned by her outraged husband
to live apart from him at so much year--a bed
raggled and bctumbled beauty, with manners 50
free and easy, a carriage so halflacadaisical and
half-rompish, style of posture utterly free from
mannerism and precedent, that you would suppose
her TO DC without the usual support of backbone
This lady has large numbers Of lovers, three of
whom were present on this interesting occasion
She gives smashing parties at her residence, to
which none but gentlemen are invited. She dances
in rapid @rian style, and looks as though the
north wind were bearing her Off and thinking it
good fun. H#a Ga g# rl pS9t
Then there was the Countess of Desmont a
French lady, said to have been on former occa-
sion, the wife of an Englishman, but now discharg
ed an errant in q lest of adventure When she
arrived here few weeks ago, she was followed by
some sixty anonymous letters setting forth her
| character in most unbecoming light. In spite Of
| this, or perhaps on account Of this, she was ut
| once taken into favor and is now an acknowledged
| belle and accepted Honns. For myself, take her
TO be lorette from Paris, and am confident Of
| having seen her at Mobile. Her manners are un-
| xceptionable-indeed rather elegant than other
wise, as those of a French courtezan on her good
behavior would be very apt to be. But her full
cheeks and large mouth, features inseparable from
the Partisan dame aur camslias, stamp her ndeli-
bly, in my estimation as fugitive from the gay
city. She dresses in excellent TASTE as far as color
and mode go, but is somewhat extravagant in the
accessories of trimming and decoration. She Is
| very intimate-thick, may say, considering the
sort Of person am speaking of--with Lady Caro-
line Messmate.
Then there was an unmarried lady from Milan,
obliged to quit that city because of a scandalous
filtration with an Austrian officer together with the
illegitmate daughter of Jerome Bonaparte- though
| that was no fault of her's--as we'll as an Italian
Marchioness, in whose marriage contract was in
serted clause to the effect that i after the birth
OF achild, she should prefer some one else to her
husband, the marriage vow was not to stand In
her way--it is understood that she has profted by
this singular privilege-together with a mantuq
maker eDnobled by wedlock, besides a numerous
throng of women of all ages, with smooches on
their birth, stains on their faith, and every kind Of
doubt and suspicion on their prudence, judgment,
discretion, TASTE conduct and all the other details
and departments OF character. You may ask why
these persons are invited into society," where 1t IL
evident they will be met by many who would pre-
fer their room TO their company. The only ex-
PLANTATION offered is, that they dispose of considera
ble influence are very pertinacious In their solicit
tatons for invitations, and that being ladies Of
title, II would be impoltic and dangerous 10 offend
/ them.
Their arrival upon the floor was marked by
| total abandonment of the respectable portion Of
the ladies on the part Of the gentlemen Of rank
and high prctensons These rushed up to the new
comers, beseging them as II they were each box
| up and whisked away into as dsheveled polka as
ono could see at the Grand Chaumiere. The rest
spun into the measure with that nimbleness Of toe
which seems invariably to accompany contempt Of
public opinion. La4H 4gls..sif t0.z .tlg,# q -.#.
An American fresh to Florence asked me why
all those who had sisters, wives, or mothers In
the room, did not take them under their arm and
walk out asked him in reply IL Ihad not heard
| OF his being, with his family, at ball given In
Paris by the Princess Mathilde. lie said ! had,
or might have done So "well, the Princess Ma
thilde Is worse than any Of these ladies' by much,
and yet you have been her guests. So don't ask
| any more inconsistent questions. il would he no
more consistent TO leave this house because Of the
presence OF these ladies, than IL would be to quit
Mobile because Of the arrival Of Rose Pompou
| leaning on Brididi's arm. Every one knew before
hand what he was TO expect, and has no right to
| take offence at so late an hour"
| l noticed quadrille, the composition Of which
was curious. The four gentlemen were the cara
| ieri serpcnh of four married ladies' their four
partners were the compromised lady from Milan,
Mesdames Dumont and Messmate, and Floren-
tine with eyebrows painted like those OF the devil
| In pantomimes, being carried back 70 the temples
till they meet the roots of the hair. The figure
next in order was exclusively American, the gen
| temen in il having engaged their Uis-a.pis at the
beginning of the evening for the entire ball, thus
securing TO their partners complete immunity from
any offensive proximties or association.
In the Mazurka, dance lasting often an hour,
Lady Messmate was the only lady who bad a seat.
This had been brought from distance, and had
been obtained with no little difficulty. When sup
per was announced, she ensconced herself in cor,
ner Of the card-room, and established relays and
posts of Counts and Marquises to and from tho Ia
| BILE, with directons to bring whatever was good,
and good deal of it, The supplies were so abun.
dant, and her spirits elevated by the guam
tties she consumed, that she soon began TO talk
with her mouth full, and 10 jabbcr In several Ian
guages at once. She sent plate laden with gal
antine to one Of her companions, and bowl Of hot
soup TO the lady with the eyebrows. Some way
of was an American woman, whose attendant had
| not yet returned from the table she was there
fore quite suppcrless az yet Lady Caroline sent
her a bouncing platter of chicken salad, which was
politely but resolutey declined. Lady C's face
became suffused for moment, but she thought II
better TO laugh, and was for sometime quite over
| powered with merriment When finally thc all
sentee returned with very starvelng portion Of
anchovy sandwiches, saying that he had with diff
Guilty obtained even that she had another attack