The New York herald., 1866-09-09

by and by to relieve the Treasury vaults let the
specie be applied quietly and steadily to the
purchase of the interest bearing debt.
Miss Flora McFiimsey's Wardrobe In Court.
We publish in another column this morning
a most extraordinary document that will pass
from the HERALD into history and be quoted
and referred to by authors, moralists, satrists,
philosophers, reforL.ers and modistes all over
the world for at least . century to come. The
document in question is an authentic schedule
Of the wardrobe Of young lady of this city
In this year Of grace. 1t came into our posses
sion in perfectly legitimate but very curious
manner. The lady is the daughter Of pro-
fessional gentleman, well-known by his ex-
tensive advertisements, and her wardrobe was
destroyed by . recent fire. Her father had
effected an insurance upon this valuable pro-
perty, however, and applied to the company
for the money The company, protesting to be
astounded at the amount demanded, resisted
the claim, and the case was carried into court
The list of articles consumed or injured is one
of the necessary papers in the case and was
drawn up under the direction Of the young
lady herself
1t is very easy to say that wardrobe like
that enumerated in this schedule Is extrava-
CANT; but the fact is that the list scarcely
gives full idea Of the extravaganza Of Ameri-
can toile4es. Twenty-one thousand dollars IS
an immense sum to have invested in clothing
but 1t must be remembered that the original
- thon
twenty-one thousand dollars. Many OF the
dresses, shawls, bonnets and other portions
of the young lady's costumes had been
more or less worn, and the prices effxed
only represent their values at the time
they were burned, which is all that the loser
pairs OF boots and shoes" would be very cheap
at $45 "dust wrapper from Cashmere"
could hardly be purchased for Sl8; "four
magnificent opera cloaks" are valued at $l75,
when one Of them would have cost that sum if
new /; cloth cloaks at So, $40 and $l2 must
have been much used to be worth oily that
amount Of money. No fashionable milllner
could sell four bonnets, some exceedingly
elegant" for 500, but would charge as much
for one elegant bonnet. 1t is evident, then,
that to get at the real cost of the wardrobe OF
a young lady Of fashion in this metropolis we
must add several thousand dollars to the
amount claimed. The articles when first pur-
chased must have cost $4,000 at least
We learn from this schedule that to make
figure in the fashionable world young lady
requires twenty six robes of silk and satin, two
of velvet twentyfour dresses of poplin, cash
mere, grenadine and Swiss and India muslin,
with underskirts and bodices OF silk nine
jackets to wear over these dresses in the
house, seventeen cloaks, mantillas and capes
for outdoor wear fifteen muslin skirts, besides
the underskirts already enumerated twenty
one sets Of founces and capes of lace, Of all
qualities, from Honiton TO Maltese and, in ad-
dition to all these, quantity Of worn dresses,
cloaks and jackets too numerous to mention
and too comparatively Insignificant to be
estimated. We must take into confederation,
however, the fact that the lady was probably
not deprived of ell her clothing BY the dre.
The schedule shows what she lost, but
we have no means Of ascertaining what she
saved. Yet 1t is only by getting ct this un-
known quantity that we shall be able to realize
the full extent Of the young lady's require
ments. At present We really icel that the list
We publish does her some injustice. Twenty
six. silk robes and twenty-four other dresses
would not satisfy any but the most reasonable
and economical Flora McFlimsey. There are
houses in the Fifth avenue that could reveal
much more extensive wardrobes. The jewels
and jewelry, too, which cost more heavily than
dresses, as many husband and father knows,
are not set down in this list, which must con-
sequently be pronounced inadequate. Still il
will serve to convey to the uninitiated and TO
posterity some conception Of the expenses Of
American fashionable life.
We are not disposed to improve tho occa-
sion, as the parsons say, by preaching sermon
upon dress and extravagance. If the figures
do not sermonize sufficiently for themselves no
comments can give them additional force. 1t
Is . fact worthy Of notice, however, that this
schedule will be read abroad with much
more astonishment than ii will excite here.
The American women are infinitely more ex-
travagant than tho English, the French or
those Of any other nation. With oil the fine
talk in the papers and in the novels about the
magnincence Of the toilettes Of Paris We doubt
whether any French lady, except Of the very
highest rank could display such . wardrobe
as that detailed in this schedule. The Ameri-
can ladies. when they 90 abroad, outdress the
continsntals un9n their own ground, although
here we have not the advantage Of those here
ditary fortunes, jewels and lsces which afford
foreigners SO fine capital to start with when
they enter fashionable life. But on the other
hand, no Europeans would be so reckless in
their dressing as Americans are. You will
never see rich silks sweeping the streets or