Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1865-12-28

The Oueen of Saba among the LorcttcS OF the
Paris of TODAY, is Il woman to whom we give
the name which Mr.. dc Cessna gave her. The
portrait which he draws of her Is very pretly'
Olympia is of middle statue, and her body as
supple as Il Llama. Her eyes are of grcenlSh
hue, and her hair of golden yellow her lips
are like coral, and her teeth like ivory; her
hands and feet OF the smallest Dimensions
She has full shoulders and perfectly formed
arms. She possesses all the wantonnesS "i
youth with ariStOcratic, and, at the same time,
pOetical sentiments 4 cultivated NINA ana
picturesque languagc-in one word, she Is
brilliant exception among the Other LoItlieS'
She is an English woman, but not of low
birth. Her father placed her, when Il chlld, ID
IA convent at Boulogne, where she learned TO
speak French with rare purity, and to write IL
correctly. As i'll luck willcd it, she mad
scarcely left the nunncry when she met, i'll Lon
don, debauchcc, who abused her ineXpcrl-
cncc She is one of those fiery natures which
push all things TO extremes. Once having leli
the right path, she threw herself with all her
ardor into the widest whirlpool of pleasure
She came to Paris eighteen years old, blooming
in all the freshness of youth and beauty. She
well knew her epoch, and made herself re-
marked bv her ccccntrcticS. She knew that
in Paris success can only be obtained by ere
ating Il great sensation; in this, i'll short time,
she perfectly succeeded. At her arrival she
had taken modest lodging Onthc fourth floor IN
one of the plebcian quarters OF Paris. Her on
lY aim then was To procure q riding horse. be
fore long she found a noble Arabian horse,
which had belonged to l.amartnc. That cclc-
brated poet never dreamed that his iavoritc
horse would one day serve a LOrctte rs the pc
destal OF her fortune. All Paris admired
OLYMPIA when, with inimitable grace and rare
audacitv, she managed her cOurSer in the BOiS
de Bouugne. Her white riding dress, and her
small Hungarian hat withitS white plumage add
mirably fitted both the woman and the horse,
SO that nothing handsomcr could he imagined.
Yesterday Olympia was still unknown; to-
day all Paris knew her name from that mo
mcnt she obtained the first place among the
stars of that peculiar society, the world of Lo-
rcttcS. Now she changed lodging and moved
from the fourth to the first floor. Dressed Ike
Il princess and driving herself the two splendid
horses which drew her elegant Victoria, she
became the leader of fashion and was admired
by all the visitors of the Bois de Boulogne and
of the race-courSe. Gold was pouring in, in
streams. With the millions she spent i'll few
years in order to satisfy her eXtravagant pas
sion for costly iewelry, elegant furniture and
tine horses, an entire village might have been
built and Il hundred families have procured
comfortable existence.
Intoxicated with her trumpllS, queen OF all
the LurvttcS, Olympia now strives To lNai
women of the first society. She gives dinners
and balls, and exhibits on these occasions, the
finest taste aud the most exquisite elegance
\ stranger who assists at her festivals, without
knowing where lac is, may pcrhapSbe somewhat
aStnmShcd at the easy attitude OF the women
hc finds there. But he meets there the same
gentlemen lac has met in the ariSt0cratic Sa-
4 l.yt m La, 40
ol one oi the grand ladies OF the French Court.
During the last carnival she sent ont invitations
to ball which were precisely like those which
the Protect of the Seine sent for the celebrated
balls of the Hotel dc Vile.
All celebrated and wealthy foreigners who
were then staying in Paris, found themselves
there in colnpany with all the French cclebrl-
ties in politics and literature, i'll the finances
and the public administrations. There might
bc seen French Senators and English peers, de
putcs of the French Legislature and members
Of the English Parliament, statesmen, grand
SrigmrurS aud rich bankers of all countries
princes, dukes, marIuiSeS, hdr"nS, and even
men who, by their genius, had acquired a Euro
pcau reputation. The female company OF the
festival was composed of some friends oi the
mistress OF the house, who lead the same life,
aud OF Il large number Of young aud pretty act
reSSeS All OF them wore dresses "t rare cost
imcsS and elegance all were covered with
Jewels and laccs which do honor /" the liberal
ity Of Europe, for all Europe is contributing Il"
this uuheard-"f luxury, OF which even Imperial
Rome had no idea.
The orchestra, on this occasion, was COM
posed Of true artists. The quadrlIcs were, al
course, more lively than usual at a party of
ministers and diplomats; for etiquette every
where carries with il coldncSS and stiffness,
which were here carefully banishcd each ol
! the guests had left these outside. On the hrSt
! loor dancing was going on; on the second, Il
! suppcr was served that would have done honor
| to the orgies of the regency. The guests, two
! hundred in number, icaStcd from Nv" I" iour
! o'clock at the dessert, an artist, The prlde ol
one of the first opera troops of Europe, sang Il
song whose text was far from being cdlying.
Mr.. dc Cessna gives it, as also the bill ol fare,
with which We dispense, for the sake OF the
| reader.
! OIvnpia is now residing in a hotel in the
nrighhlrhood Of tie Elysian fields. The outfit
of her apartments, and all the furniture, are
real miracles Of artistic taste and ariStocratic
clreInce. Her jcwcl-caSc contains two mag
! uilicent parnreS, one of emerald, the other OF
SAPPHIRE and the finest pearls. In her coach
! house there are seven carriages, and III her
stables the prcttieSt pair OF ponies IN all ParlS,
! four stately carriage horses, and three riding
horses, of the highest price. Her service re-
scmbles that of an English perreSs porter,
Il butler, Il vale dc chambre, Il hedd-cook, a
! lady compagnon, houSckccpcr, II CHAMBER
maid, aud waSlcrwomam. The two last
mentioned must have busy time for Olympia
changes her dress twice day, and never wears
! the same robe more than twice.
The honest women greatly contribute to the
successes OF the L0rctieS. In the theatre, ut
! the racc-conrSe, in the public walks, they have
only eyes for her; they strive to initiate her
free manners and her dress ; they blacken then
brOwS and cye-lashcS she does, and attire
! themselves as she does. To the mothers of the
! Elubourgs St. German, Clause dAntin and
ST. llonOrc, the Lorettc is no longer an object
of contempt she is their rival, cnvicd for her
triumphS, and contcndcd against with the same
weapons; but they forget that the Eue secret
| of her influence is exclusively to be found IL
! her moral baseneSS.