Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-04-15
The Bal sIasque.

Tor the moral refinement OF our city. Lot
masquerade has no business here. |, is lille
gal. There is on the Statute Book law en-
titled IAN &C. for the prevention of masque
rades," which subjects every person engaged
in them to a penalty Of one thousand dol
lars. This is just. The masquerade is al
abomioatiOn which ought not t. he tolerated
in any Christian community. Ii il no. il
accordance with the decent morals Of Ameri
"a. Its home is the g!lIed r0tthnneSs %
Paris II should stay there. We wan
none of 1t.
Were you ever, reader, q spectator. of one
Of those Partisan exAibitlOns--ve mean, d
course, the better class Of them, those which
take place twice week during th- winter
commencing at the hour Of midnight, at toe
Grand Opera or the Opera Comique. Ii So
and If you looked upon it with purged Amer
lean eyes-as we take II for granted you did
you have no need to be told that the mas
querade is no entertainment for the virtuOus
daughters of America--the vOluptuous mu
sic on the stage, the floor swarming with
men and women in extravagaot costumes,
dancing, swearing, laughing, quarreiIug,
speaking words that should blister humao
lips, TIE foyer, more elegant and recherche.
hummin- with d0uI'e-emsHdres AMI every
style Of Intrigue, aHd in the boxes and sa-
IONS, iodecences that oeggar description
and alnos. exceed belief 10 aid toe imagl-
nation of thuse who have seen nothing OF
this, We will cite few passages from the
pages of an American writer, whose only
fault is that be undercolors:
"a lame man could hardly help dancing
to such music, but the French shouted and
danced; they danced with their feet; they
danced with their legs; they danced with
their arms; and their eyes danced most OF
all. Now the locks of marquis brush your
face, and now the toe OF "a countess comes
within an inch Of your nose, though you be
taller than she. 4 PIeTreue whirls you com
pieeJ round, while perhaps zeal ianseuse
from the Opera, in performing Que Of her
eWtrechatS, carried away by her enthusiasm.
fails into your arms. The scene was indeed
brilliant for no lady is allowed to enter un-
less masked and dominOed, in trsvesty, aud
no gentleman unless iu trsvestry or full
dress; 50, whatever might have been the
character and standing of the individuals Of
the assembly, their exteriOrs were certainly
always elegant and often splendid, z
As the night wears 90, and the blood grows
warm, tho excitement and noise increase
erybody talks with everybody, tmoysrs
rybOdy aud ridicules everybody. Iney
laugh at one another, and tread on each
Others toes, or kiss those they had never
seen. At three O'Clock in the
morning. tho excitement reaches its height:
the musicians have caught the general spirit,
and play with redou5led energy; the demand
is for noise as we'll as music. 0ae OF them
seems occasionally to strike barrel, anots-
or tin pan, and another a gong, which GER
tainly gives o wildness to the instrumental
tiou 10 perfect keeping with the whole scene.
A fine dust arises and fills the whole Theatre;
it IL iust enough 10 Gin a little the blaze OF
light. and i'm part ha2y lock TO the spcr-
did array Of beauty spread oct on all sides.
The noise is deatening; shouts Of laughter
in every KEY of the dlapasJn rise FROM tiSe
hundred voices at once; a blaze Ui Wit ami
repartee, stale enough in Paris, when one
knows it, but brilllant 10 the stranger, flies
about ones ears ike the popping OF squlbs.
The third sex (fur grisette must belong to
that sex, as she can hardly be ranked as
masculine or feminine is now all animation;
she claps her little hands and dashes in, per-
forming all the most approved evolutions
with surprising dexterity. And now what q
ela,ter OF feet, and flashing of eyes, and tos-
sing Of heads How the tall piumcs wave
IN Tue air, and how the snowy white locks OF
the marquis dance - tho music, AID what q
shaking Of gaudy dresses and iac2s and
spaDgIes and epaules, What beautiful
white shoulders and bosoms fit under your
eye. What taper forms ar, continually
bounding about you, and riTalIlug all the po-
siuons OF the graccs Surely they ale all
int0x icatea with pleasure, ami nerhapS a
few thin bles-tull Of CCgnac.
Here in the Jufet sceoe prescnted itself
such a. can never ss witnessed elsewhere -
The tables were strewn with Champagne bot
ties, smoking hot punches, bavarolsec, cigar
stumps, broken cIga ettes CJifee-cups, liquor
glasses, and, in short, every imaginable
drink or utens! that could BE serVicelbIe III
a Bacchaualian rUut; While around the table,
and on the tabl, sometimes, were closely
GROUPED a hundred taGtastic3l forms aud
shapes of every color, twisted into every
possible position, and all talking, or rather
shouting, at the same time. Tho air was
filed with dense smoke from the cigarettes
Of fifty pretty lips and the cigars Of their
and If there was anything they
did harder than drinking and smoking, it
was the jiDgliug of glasses, banging OF
chairs, and general effort to see who could
make most noise.
For an instant, | was completely lost 10
reflections. Never had been present at
scene Of greater apparent gayety--oecer
were appearances more deceptive. Nearly
all Of the,e gaudy, g.iied eXterlOrs conceal
ed hearts that were, or ought to have been,
miserg Lle; but 4 short life and q merry one
seemed TO be the universal aim, and 80 they
danced themselves into misery and death
danced themselves as far away from true
happiness as the quiet of q family frc5ide l.
removed from the boisterous mirth Of mask
ball"
Now, is it to be tolerated that such school
Of decentralization aud iDfamy shall be open
I'd 10 New York; Shall our Academy OF
Music be transformed into a high temple OF
the Vices? 1t its proprietors have made up
heir miuds to do this, if they are ready TO
accept tae PRINCIPLES OF Jean Jacques ROus
'eau, we advise them to Initiate bis candOr
likewise; aud as be preLxef bis Noucellc
lieloiSe with the warning, Any young girl
VINO will open this book IS lost, 20 let them
mblazon on the portal Of their noble build
ng, Any young girl who will enter these
1oors is lost" They know, they cannot but
know, that nothing under Heaven has go
=, nah onp., hntol IN maka paris tho lazar