The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-03-13

Washington has not been SO gay as at pres
-ent since just prior to the rebellion and never,
before or since, has it been so extravagant in
taste, SO lavish in expenditures. The toilets
are very brilliant; and one part of them may
be observed as in a style which no laday,
however rich in the worldly goods, can very
well afford. I refer 10 that odiouS and de-
structive practice Of crimpng the hair with
hot irons-a vice common to nearly all, but
particularly outrageous with those who have
any shade of hair that can by tlattery be
imaped "goldcn." Perhaps they have all
been reading Miss Alphabet Bradden's novels,
and seek to rival in external appearance that
class of fair-haired herones CASUALLY some
what too prone to murder and adultry,) who
are invariably described by Miss Bradden
as having clocks that form an aureole of
golden glory' gushing in wild profuson
around their criminal, but highly lovely and
talented heads. AT any rate, have seen
more than a score of young girls and young
married women in half AS many hours, whose
hair was crimped and frizzled to an extent
making them precisely resemble those scien-
tfc electrical dolls with hair of flax, whose
out in all directions, at right angles to the
roots by simply turning the wheel, Or other
wise charging the electric battery. 1t may be
very pretty, doubtless, for those who admire
that particular style of artificial chignon; but
the man in his senses who would contemplate
marrying one of these crimped and frizzled
beauties, or the husband who permits such de-
structive ornaments to his young wife, should
first inquire the price of female wigs of the
best quality for they will shortly be needed;)
and also picture 4" in his minds eye, Horatio )"
how bald headed young wife will look in her
lace nigbtcap-if she can make up her mind
to that abomination Of the nocturnal toilet Or
how shining bald head, surrounding pref
ty grlish face, will look beside him on the
pillow.
The only sensible novelty Of fashion that
strikes the visitor to washington, is the new
custom of handing round beef tea in little
cups to all over-weared and oyer-excited
dancers of the interminable " German -
which is here a much more elaborate dance
than l have seen ii elsewhere, with an amount
of gildec sceptres, strings Of parti-colo
ribbons, flags passing from hand to hand and
rules for selecting partners by similarly
of colored badges-such as invariably proves
bewildering to all "people from Pike
country" and the remainder Of our outside
heather. The beef tea, however, is good,
and might be certified by DR.. William W.
Sanger, of Broadway, as administered on
soundly hygienic principles' 1t recuperates
the energies, supplies the carbon necessary to
meet the unusual fuel drafts Of such protracted
exercise; and it is certainly less hurtful to the
system than champagne-whch might dan
gerously infame the pulse beyond control Of
tnpcn iaac
which are of no chemical value to the Juices
employed in sustaining life, while rapidly de-
.structve to the enamel of the teeth-as may
be tested by suddenly dropping any warm
piece of enameled porcelain into basin Of
freezing water. The hot porcelain will sud
denly contract, its enamel chipping off as it
does so; and the same process will take P ace
with the human teeth when eating ices.
At the German given by Miss Kate
Chase, let me beg her pardon, by the wife Of
Senator Sprague, Of Rhode Island, all the
young ladies who intended to join the 90 Ger
man" were invited to come with their hair
powdered after the fashion of our hoped and
furbelowed great grand mothers The effect
was pretty, and the, fashion thus set by Mrs.
Sprague is rapidly spreading; but fancy what
would be the feelings of any young lady who
did 60 with powdered hair, thereby announc-
inc herself candidate for the 90 German"
vet found no bearded and bifurcated &c waltza-
bic =" in the room with sufficient taste to ask
her for his partner Our only advice to
Young ladies must be in such case: Be very
sure of having cavalier devoted to your
glove and breast ribbon before allowing your
hair to be powdered, when attending one Of
these Teutonic dancing nights. All other
dances but the :" German " are rapidly going
out of date here-inasmuch that an old fash
toned set of quadrilles or such round-dances
as the polka, schottische, or varsoyienne,
would excite as much curiosity and amuse-
ment as the evoluons of dozen Mastodons
or ancient Saurians, suddenly emerging from
the red sandstone of the primary formation
and commencing to prouette in affectionate
awkVardness to fiddle played by Captain
Noah, of the good ship Ark The redowa,
deux tempts and galope, are not so entirely
antouarianised and ostracised but even they
are not considered much more modern than
would be the dodo, hippotamus or rhinoceros,
IN modern treatise on the animal creation
things vet living and to be seen, it IS true
but chiefly valuable as connecting links De-
tween the antediluvian world of the quadrlle
and the nineteenth century with Its " herman
THE ATLANTIC CABLE.-At recent meet
ing of the Atlantic Cable Company in London
a report was presented, giving some interest
inc information with reference to this great
enterprise The company was organised in
March, 1866, with $5,Oo0,0O0 capital, and
has two cables in operation. herepor.t states
that the capacity of the two cables for the
transmission of news exceeds the most san
guine anticipations. 1t had been estimated
that from twenty five to forty words'a minute
could be Observation-Disclosures, practically,
one hundred words have been forwarded
through each cable in one minute, fhe result
had been attained without resortng to any OF
the appliances that had been provided to in
crease the working power Of the cables AS
for the capacity Of the cables, it is ony limited
by the power Of the human eye and brain to
trace the transmitted signs. The period OF
time required for the transmission of sign
across the Atlantic is not apprecabe. The
defects in the land lines connecting Hearts
Content with the United States are alluded to,