Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-09-11


| q RoAAxcE OF CRISoLIsE. bile we are up
on the subject Of crinoline, tmay be as well to
tell YOU the adventure which Is forming tile chief
amusement of the court Mt this moment, and
which happened n day or two ago. at st Cloud
The Duchess de p, one of the most crlnoiIned
of all the ladies about the Empress, being in the
fullest feather for dinner to which she had been
invited by her imperial mistress. was iedinto the
sdlIc a Munger by the little Count de NJ, man
of great renown but of very small stature The
duchess is of tall commanding figure and Is
besides. particularly liberal OF crinOine, which
she is accused of exaggerating to most incon-
venicnt proportions. The; doors ut st Cloud are
not of the same mighty diminsioas Gs those at
the Tuiieries and although the two 5dttaRs were
thrown wide open, it was with some disnay the
little count beheld the work before MIN, when
he compared the width of the door with that of
the crinoIine OF thelAdyoR his arins Just at the
awful moment OF the passage, however, the lady
inconsciously dropped her fan--the count, for
getftil of his perilous position, confined between
the doorway, having no other fear before his
eyes but that of seeming to be deficient in gal
lantrv and good manners, impudently stopped to
pick It up. At that moment the duchess was
accutally passing through the door--n order 20
accomplished this difficult feat she was just III
the act of giving that peculiar swing to the left
which the disproportion of the dTess of thepres-
ent day with our domestic economy renders
necessary, when, to the utter dismay and con-
sterliation Of the whole assembly, the ittlecount
was missed, and the duchess remained struggl.
ing with some unseen obstacle which prevented
her advancing.
The ogre crinoline had swallowed up the
knight even more effectually than III the fairy
days of old for no trace of his former existence
was visible The company following in pairs
was stopped as matter of rourse those who
had gone on before had already reached their
seats at the table, and turned in wonder 70 be-
hold the strange scene which was enacting at the
door, where the tall, majestic, and unusually
dignified Duchess de P. was capering and cara
coling with q sacred ard terrified countenanee,
and the rest of the company pressing forward to
behold what was the matter. The confusion
and dismay were at their height when the little
man crept out on his hands and knees from be-
meath the mountain of crinoline and Hounces in
which he had been developed, all flushed aud
discounted, butiitte disposed to SMILE although
the tittering OF the company soon broke into
hearty laugh, when the Empress, unable to res
train her Inirth, gave the signal of q genuine
outburSt of merriment, which enliyened the
whole repast, and rendered it one of the gayest
which had taken place since the departure of
the Emperor. OF course, this adventure has
given rise to ePigtams and quoltbets without
end, and the poor little count has become better
known within the last week in the annals of the
court than by the three years good and honest
service which he has passed at the Tnieries.-
The duchess, meanwhile, towers more maiesti-
cally than ever over her fellows, theincident has
not whit diminished the insolence of her Grim
oline, which, growing moro prodigiops every
day, completely extinguisties. all the ridicule
which the adventure of the little Count de n.
would otherwise have heaped upon her.-I7ariS
Correspond ehes Of the London Court Journal.
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