Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-05-16


lr Appearance aud Costume Of Eugene and
Napeleon-Dia gnihcence Of the Display
Expense ofthe Mere Fete $4,000.
Galignanis Messenger, received from Paris
by the last steamer, gives these interesting
particulars of the Empress's grand masquer-
ade, of which so much has already been said;
The splendor Of the scene presented on
Tuesday night at the bal costume, given by
the Empress at the Hotel Able, and which,
for the last few weeks, has been the great
topic Of expectation, was such as has scarcely
eyer been surpassed, The Emperor made
his entry shortly after eleven in black
domino, which he only removed during the
evening to substitute for it blue one. The
Empress, who arrived soon after, was at
tended through the rooms by Prince de Met
ternich. Her Majesty also wore domino,
which, TO the general surprise, she never took
of; report having affirmed that she was to
appear as "Diaha,n the Huntress. Her
Majesty only remained short time. The
costume Of the Princess Mathilde was Of
most unusual description, as the texture of
her skin was completely darkened to repre-
| sent cupper-colored Indian, and to suit
| euriOusly picturesque attire, lightly fastened
together. The Princess Clothilde showed
exquisite taste in most charming costume
| Of a Bergere in the time of Louis XIV.
Prince Napoleon. appeared in a domino. The
| buSoOo WSHO I6C6lNtu ny Lub Duhe anu DuCu-
ess de Tascher la Pagerie, whose courtesy and
attention were uDceasing ...
Dancing commenced early, and continued
| during the night, but three quadrlles in par
| ticular stood out in bold relief for their
| beauty and originality, the costumes of which
had been previously arranged. In the first
were represented the characters of the fairy
tale which delighted our childhood, 'Puss in
Boots" the. second was composed of the fa-
IN nf fha W ,.,,s,v al
such as Punchinello, Harlequin, and the rest
while the third, in which the four elements
were attempted to be impersonated, gave to
the admiring spectators one of the most lovely
sights ever presented in any ballroom. The
Countess Walewska represented water, being
dressed as "Undine." She wore coronet OF
diamonds, surmounted by conch shell of
diamonds and opals. Behind foated on her
| shoulders marine shrubs.
Air was personified by the Countess of
Morny, who wore head-dress of diamonds
with wings at the sides, her hair being pow
| dered with silver, while behind were to be
| seen light pinions. The Princess Swiskowska
| represented earth. Her head-dress wascom-
posed of a crenelated tower in gold, orna-
| mented on one side with cornucopia from
which fell flowers and fruits. Fire was rep
resented by the Princess Czartoriska, daugh-
ter of Queen Christina she wore a diadem of
| flames of gold, and flames of the same metal
were intermingled with her hair In each
| quadrille the ladies were dressed nearly alike;
| and in addition to the leaders mentioned
| above were to be seen the Countess de Per-
signy, Madame Nierabitowska, and Madem-
| oiseile Sivewiboft the Princess de Meter
mich, Madame Nirerdriecka, the Countess de
Portales Labedovere, &c.
The last named quadrille was composed
solely of ladies, four for each element and
each four being dressed alike, with almost
the sole difference that the display of dia-
monds and precious stones was somewhat
greater with some of the ladies than with
others. But such was the admiration excited,
| not only by the richness of the costumes, but
by the beauty of the ladies who took part in
| it, that universal supplicatjon arose for
| repetition of the dance, and the request was
| most kindly acceded to. At two o'clock the
curtain which hung between the pillars of
the garden corridor was raised, and presented
sight the magniicence of which could
scarcely have been imagined, unless in be-
holding some picture by Paul Veronese. This
was the banquet-hall, which to that hour had
not been opened. The corridor led on to
galleries, which extended down both sides of
| the hall. At the further end, scenery had
been arranged so as to vanish in the distance;
fountain sent up its waters in the fore
| ground, and on them an electric light was so
| adjusted as to give the watery spray, as it
rose and fell, the appearance offrosted silver.
The scene was most beautiful, and called
vividly to mind those abodes only read of in
the arabian Nights. The center of the hall
was reached by two wide staircases and in
| its wide expanse were disposed twenty Ia
bles, glittering with plate and crystal, and
covered with supper of a most sumptuous
description. The attendants consisted solely
of pages attired in, o costume of the richest
kind-silk, velvet and lace--of the sixteenth
century. A party of musicians, also dressed
most gorgeously, played during the supper.
The Emperor sat down at one of the tables,
but did not remove his mask, even while
taking refreshment Eight ladies were seated
near him; the Countess de Morny at one side
and the Countess Walewska at the other
At the supper-table of the ladies of the Court
were to be seen the Princess Clothilde and
| the Princess Mathilde. AS soon as the first
party Of guests had withdrawn, another de-
scended, and SO continued until all that
pleased had supped. Dancing was resumed
aafterward, and the .fete did not terminate
until six in the morning.
Perhaps there was never seen a more mag
nificent display than on this occasion, or one
in which every person appeared to have be-
slowed so much attention to faithfully carry
out the various details of the costumes
adopted. Expense seemed to be totally dis
regarded, both by the giver of the fets and by
the invited, and the first rough expense of
the entertainment, before guest had entered
the rooms, Estimated at not less than 400 000f.
The display of diamonds was something won
derful, and the dresses were generally re-
markable for their fidelity. Among the cos
tunes noticed for their historical correctness
and splendor were those worn by three Eng
lish ofiicers--Oapt. Lumley, in the character
of the Earl Of Essex; Col. Burnaby, as Gus
tavus Adolphus, and Capt. Maxse, as Fran
els i. iilidf