The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1866-02-02
NUMBER %.
ShOddy in Paris.

Shoddy is here at last, and the mouth Of
Paris water, and the ears of Paris tingie
at the sound of well-flled pockets l have
just returned from half an hours lounge in
the court yard of the hote, Shoddys head
quarters. Behold him in his magnihcence as
he reclines gracefully upon two chairs, one
arm thrown over the back of the third, bis
boot heel resting, at an elevation higher than
his head upon the rim of one of the wooden
tubes that contain the fan-like painters He
is smoking his seventh cigar, while he waits
the return of his wife and daughters from the
drive-be it recordeded en- paSSent that female
shoddy never walks-and here they come!
Fat, sallow and long past forty, the matror
shoddy sits bolt upright, for if she reclined the
world would lose half her attractions, and
while seeing, she drives to be seen.
She has diamonds in her ears; she has pearls
around her neck and Niagara of pearls
flowing over her. mountainous bosom. She
has heavy bracelets on her arms, rings upon
her fingers, ana would have bells on her toes
if the preludices Of society were not against
such fashion. The shoddy maidens are not
as refulgent as the mother. The whole court
yard as they enter brightens up as with a
sudden burst of sunbeams, and as they de-
scend, which they do somewhat heavily, from
the carriage, there is q prolonged metallic rat
tie, as though they wore, which in great part
they do, chain armor over their clothes. Shod-
dy himself, cigar in mouth-it is never out
except to eat drink or spit-lounges over to
them, consults his watch, a costly affair, a size
smaller than the hotel clock above his head
and limiting that it is lunch time, states his
intention of ''putting himself outside of some
thing right off"
The ladies replying through their noses
that they have no objection" the whole party
shine and rattle up the steps, and are soon
engaged in taking stock"-the phrase is shod-
dy-of light and elegant repast, consisting
OF Strasbourg pie, picked saloon, lobster salad,
cucumber and cheese, washed down by two
bottles of clicquot, and concluded with what
the ladies denoninate 'freshener up" and
the gentlemen a corpse reviverW This
glorious vision had scarcely vanished from my
view, when my attention was called by their
very high voices, to meeting of shoddy ladies
who were waiting, as they termed it, ito be
hauled up to their rooms by the driving bell. I"
They were yellower in every way than the
party have just mentioned, as brassy and
more bilious, keeping up high pressure con-
versation in voices pitched to the keynote of
railway whistle.
Forced by circumstances to become lis
tener, was favored in less than five minutes
with much domestic information which, wiser
than they, l shall keep to myself, merely re-
cording the tact that Jane, the daughter Of
one of the ladies, was at that moment fixing
herself up" for driven the Bots, and that
Stephen had gone out with his father to eli
quor." Do l exaggerate Certainly not
Paris, as have before said, is flooded by less
nouuenauT riches of the new world men who
more than realise Ben Johnson's comical con-
ception, and are face, subtle and epicure NAM
mon combined