New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-09-01
EpROPEAN GOSSIP.
s~s eu eoesipps Correspondent.
nxDnS l,u,.t ~ ri

n The fral daughters Of Albion, is about 10 set;
nd 80 the spectacle of setting sun is everywhere
. nost splendid picture, on the smoky banks Of
~ Thames as well as on the blue waters Of the
Mediterranean, the last concerts Of the year are
ne most melodious--the last balls the most
kshionabe-the last dinners tie most entertaining.
As the reports AMI whispers Of high life grow
fainter and weaker they are listened 10 with
Hveher interest and Irritation and polkas are never
more valued than at the very moment when they
aro about to disappear, leaving but fugitive
though pleasant impression behind Everybody"
viii soon have left London, the smoky noisy, dirty
LendOD, ride de bruit, de famte eide bone Every
body" means two or three thousand weu-dressed
hterers idle tops and dashng ladies'; the two mil.
hons Of specializing and tOling human creatures,
Of clever men and useful women, who remain by
necessity in the metropolis, are usually rcckOned az
nobody" The witty ~. Simon was, under the
Restoration arragned before the assizes because he
proved, in remarkable pamphlet, that If Paris should
by sudden death be deprived Of her three thousand
most distinguished inhabitants, including the first
statesmen politicians orators, ministers, courtlers,
hwyers public clerks, generals, functonarles, dan
dies and bellies the world would by no means be tn
worse for that awful loss, and the majority Of the
people would scarcely become aware OF 1t. But IT
The capital were TO lose suddenly her three thousand
ters butchers, bakers, locksmiths, tailors shoe
makers and seamstresses, the gap could never b
filled and the progress Of civilization would instantly
be stopped. Never, indeed did social reforner
utter greater truth; for, except few niiinO's end
paQasiRS dc nOureaHtCS, nobody fees thit
"eyery body" has left /" town" A few carriages
hess in Regent street, few pretty AmazOns wanting
in Rotten Row, few window shutters closed in the
fashionable quarters this is the only blank made by
the departure of the worshiped upper ten thou
sand" And yet, the foppish frequenter OF natrl-
monial Almack's the enraptured admirer OF Fashion
and FhSkeyism, will utter a heart-rendng groau,
and sigh, with the poet:
Nicer J. never fot calm 30 deep,
Dear Heaven the very houses seem asleep,
And all that mighty heart is lying still"
Lords and VI. Ps are sentenced 10 Il longer stay;
but their wives and daughters have already taken
their flight toward the watering places the sea side
or the favOrite rural spots. The best proof that the
fashionable world is leaving lies in the fact that
the inventors of the false absence (the poor dandeS
who shut their Venetian blinds in order to simulate
Journey and walk in the streets at night, like city
watchmen) begin to foretell their departure for the
end Of the month. This ridiculous breed is brought
up in every cline and every country, in the old IA
well az the new world
ain vain, alas in vain, ye gallant few"
In vain do you speak of the dark oaks Of Spa, the
lovely frs of Baden-Baden, the sunny walks of
Vichy, or the stupendous mountains of Bsgneres;
il is well known that your travels will be limited to
the dusty purGeus of the metropolis, and your ee-
gance shut up in lonely suburbs. In France, these
imaginary travels are much la mode that some
sharp spectators have already created an institution
for meeting this social want: it consists in rural
boarding. houses, erected Il few miles from Paris
and completely secured against the investigating eyes
Of iDtrudiDg friends
Nevertheless, the iavOrite resorts OverhOwing
with visitors and the German watering places have
"a otarn 1hprO fray ele
capital offers now such meager harvest OF scandal
and anecdotes that the great Partisan and Belgian
newspapers have sent their chroncers abroad and vic
in c0uTrsrs de Bade TeratS DE- Spa, nO"reieS DE ms
stHpen ard ehr0niqu6s dc HUSbadeR. The proud
ladies' of England flock together in the seigneural
mansions of their lords where the refreshing breczes
of the large parks, the nyigorating walks through
waving cornfcds and the calm nights without
dreams and Lancers Quadrilles will soon recall the
blooming roses on their pale cheeks.
For balls have truly been trying this year; the
season was So short that scarccy an evening
passed without party OF some kind. Enter
tajpments succeeded one another with 50 much
rapidity that there was really not sufficient time left
for dressing suitably for every peculiar pleasure.
We could name a lady who had nerves, quckncsS
and bOldness enough to accomplish the following
feats in a single day: She was seen at ii O'Clock IN
the morning in Hyde Park in becoming riding
habit. with handsome Pamela hat on her head;
X. "A
streaky, light silk dress and bonnet Of white
grape; at s, at a grand dinner-table, in violet and
Bounces with pearls and beads in tho hair; at :,
in an evening concerts and at ii, at ball, IN white
muslin and a lovely hairdress of roses. Now, IL
put an embroidered Opera-nante on White shoulders
is certainly all agreeable occupation; but when one
has nothing to do but 10 repeat four or five times
in the course OF single day, IT must become te-
diousy monOtonOus.
Brns, then, these blessings TO strict account;
Make fair deduciionsi see TO what they mount
Think, and IL still these things thy envy call,
Say, woudst thou be the ni o whom they fall Pc
Balls and h{s ddnsaateS (straDge to say, every
lady who makes use Of the French words puts dan
santts in the femnine) have assumed such gigantic
proportions that the mistress who expects only a
hundred guests invites you, on her cards, to small
evening party. This fashion renders enjoyment
quite ont of question; but no one ia satisfied so
long as the drawng.room is not crowded 70 excess
Dancing is net kept up on the carpet, but on the
Feet of partners aud neighbors. But the apartments
are decorated in magnificent style, tue eyes are
dazzed by the brilliant shoots Of the chandeliers and
the prismatic reverberation of the diamonds the
staircase is rcdOleDt with the sweet perfume Of ca
otto flowers, and besides there is q living panorama
of celebrities to gaze upon. Tired and worried out
the guests retire early without having been able to
achieve single quadrlle or 70 reach one glass OF ice
but they exclaim with strain OF frantic enthusiasm:
81 have never seen more beautiful fcte!" This
ball, Of the kind which the French call grandiOsc,
Is especially given by ambassadors, dukes and cham
berlans and sometimes honored, or, MS the English
loyasts say graced by tie presence OF Her Majesty
The second kind of dancing entertainment is the
Y0niy ball. Here also there is doieiu want sf
air. room, seats and tables. Two thousand ladies
and gentlemen, one third composed Of Foreigners of
every nation, savages and heatbeu included, ale u
vited to house which would conveniently hold halt
their number. The whole proceeding is as ST.
rious as vanity and as cold as arrogance. livery
h.