The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-04-01
Our New York Letter.
lFRoM OUR nEou1An coanEsposprsr.

New York, March 29th, 1867.-The
grand masked and fancy dress annual ball
OF the Purim Association came off last
night at the Academy Of Music, as had been
duly announced in the papers here, and
MouLTRIE attended as per promise in his
letter of the 22d to the News. AS made
my appearance at the ball Gin the disguise Of
bran new suit of clothes) at nine o'clock
last night, and did not make my disappear
ance trll the morn in r2sset mantle clad
walked Ger the dew, and so forth, and an
nounced that it was time to think of bid
ding the world good night, or rather good
morning, and indulgingin at leasta nodicum
OF tired natures sweet restorer, balmy sleep.
NY account Of the gay festivities is given
under the disadvantage Of my being rather
fatlgued, not to say somnolent However,
as the affair was what is called in French
IN grand success, and is well worth describ-
ing; although I may say that in the lesh, I
have just come from the ball, in spirit will
enter 1T dc 7'oro, accompanied IS your read
ers-timc, nine o'clock last night:
Three-fourths Of the parquette and the
whole OF the stage. is neatly boarded over,
forming an immense ballroom thronged
with the merry maskers, dressed in COS
tunes Of every description, many Of them
superly elegant and some extremely outre
and pleasantly comic---the portion of the
parquette what is not boarded over accom-
modates such portion Of the lovers Of the
dance as prefer to wait till after midnight.
when it will be allowed them to ego upon the
tioor" unmasked and without costumes, to
gether with general spectators who could
not afford to pay twenty dollars for private
box in the tier alone in this tier are the
hoy a7is tol, to whom money is no object,
and who sip champagne as they look upon
the kaleidoscope scene below and wipe their
lips with hankerchiefs that cost from one to
five hundred dollars each.
As it grows later the maskers increase in
numbers, and many Of the costumes are
noted for their richness, beautiful young
daughter Of Israel, gorgeously attired as an
Indian girl, bearing the palm and winning
the gold medal. None Of the other COS
tunes deserve particular mention, except
one which was extraordinarily comic, and I
think that the Jewish portion Of your
readers will llagree with me in considering
IN rather questionable taste. What the
lsraelites call a SAFER, is scroll on which
is inscribed the law of MOSES On the fes
tlval Of Purim somewhat similar scroll, il
which is written the Book of ESTHER. is
read during the service in the Synagogue.
This is called the MEaa1LLAH, and this
was the costume in which one of the gen
tlemen thought proper to appear. It was
oD. oa1rI1y nsvsU Su1.o.- --eo----~~-
peripatetie human SAFER dancing quad
rifle, flirting with the ladies', and, drollest
of all, joining in the chorus of hymn
chanted at midnight, the words being sung
to the tune Of Yankee Doodle A SAFER
singing Yankee Doodle is about as strange
a mixture Of the sublime and ridiculous as
can be we'll conceived The handsomest
dressed lady on the floor was Mrs. WI
FLORENCE, the conedienne, who was the
observed Of all observers. The dress was
made in Paris, and is a heavy white rep
silk, magnifcently embroidered in black
and gold, with pearl trimmings, and the
train Cor traiD very long. Mrs. FLORENCE
wore a head dress Of pearl and diamonds.
There was one lady present whose dress
was much costlier, though not SO neat and
elegant as that Of Mrs. F. The lady
is Mrs. CRoML1NE, wife Of d wealthy
Jewish banker in Wall street, who has
failed in business an extraordinary number
of times, but who seems to get along tolera-
bly, well notwithstanding. Mrs G: wore
blue MORE antique, with point lace and
pearl trimmings, superb diamond orna-
ments IN her hair, with necklace, ear rings,
and bracelets, also Of diamonds, The whole
probably worth about fifty thousand dollars
At midnight when the dancers unmask-
ed, the scene which was dazzling before,
became more dazzlingly brilliant, for when
the masks we're thrown aside and the hand
some faces Of their lovely wearers, q do
NOT refer to the males, were exposed to
view, as the dark flashing eyes Of the hun
dreds Of Jewish maidens, shone with a
brightness that shamed the diamonds, and
put the gas jets to the blush. I could not
but indulge in the philosophic reflection,
thatIf nature has not been lavish IN her ffa-;;
.vors to the sons Of the covenant, she has
more than counterbalanced it BY b'estowing
them most bounteously upon the,daughters
:of Israel. And now the dance is renewed,
and the Merry PurimP' II that flashes upon
the view in letters Of IRE, across the stage,
is read again and again in the laughter lov-
ing eyes of3!the lovely dancers; (not the
men) and young men fall in love, who were
not in love before, and those who had fallen
in before, sink deeper, and the eyes fash
c1, and young men sigh, and old folks
yawn, for it is growing late, and the hungry
n