The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-10-18


Whatever other mistakes Mr.. Grau may have
committed he deserves the credit for never
obtruding himself upon the public. Not even
his extraordinary triumph in the representa-
lions Of Nine. Risori tempted him to deviate
from the modesty which best becomes an able
and successful manager
TIE war Of the opera houses threatens to be
the death of the ''Granae Duchesse of Gerol-
stein, under whatever uame she may claim
an allegiance. If in our duty to the public
we must sign her death warrant, we shall,
nevertheless, long remember how brightly her
reign has enlivened the American stage.
Greciau Bend-The Pannier and Iss Ad.
Our fashions correspondent sends word frcm
Paris that what was predicted has come to
pass. The ladies are beginning to wear gar
lands of roses, yellow and red, on the top Of
the forehead, low shoes and short dresses.
After this who can wonder at anything in tho
way Of dress? Without assuming to call any
thing fashionable hideous, it is only fair to
admit that this new style is queer.
Perhaps we can add little to the attrac-
tons here. Would not all this be little
nearer perfection il pet animal were to
accompany the fashionable lady in her walks 2
Little dogs are out of fashion, it is true, and
cats might not be becoming; but what objec-
ton can there be to pet monkey, attached to
a string, and hopping in front or comfortably
perched on the pannier9 Decidedly the pan
nier will not be all it should until the monkey
is elevated upon it,
1t is doubtless true, as our correspondent
says, that womans vanity-if that be the right
word-has much to do with making her con-
stantly and universally attractive to man. He
gives funny instance of the way in which
certain ladies visiting at model farm threw
themselves with enthusiasm into the special
enjoyments of the place and found the cattle
yard as much to their taste as the drawing
room or the croquet lawn-impartial in their
devotion to any object, so long as they can
thereby please the men and attract them when
they come in from their field sports or other
masculine occupations.
Our streets will wear a comical. appearance
pleasing picture to see the ladies promenade
with flower gardens on their heads and .
lucid interval between the hem OF the skirt
and their low cut shoes We must certainly
try to mitigate the coming weather to make
this display convenient to the actresses them
selves. If it were of any use to write seri-
ousy against the follies of fashion we might
join the severe moralists and the weighty men
of science in their constant attacks upon
them. We might be specific, like the scien-
tifc men, or vague, like the professional
moralists But it is not worth while. A good
natured joke is always in season, and, what
is more to the point, always in fashion. Az
far as dress is concerned, decoration of some
kind, if only tattooing and paint, came in be-
fore clothing, and, If our climate would kindly
allow, would certainly survive it. In those
favored regions where the naked dandy sits in
half calabash and protects himself from rain
with the other half he is still careful of his
wool, and frizzes and greases it with all the
care of French hairdresser. Rings for the
ears or nose, bracelets and bangles, are in
demand where further dress is unknown; and.
similarly, in our civilized parts of the earth,
dress, though generally insisted on, serves
pretty much as foundation for what courtesy
calls ornaments.
OF course we charge the ladies with most Of
this devotion to fashion, but they say the
charges are all due to their desire to please
the gentlemen, who desire them constantly to
seek fresh styles by ridiculing any style which
is introduced. The injured creatures have
been laboring at this unendng task for genera
tions and see no hope of peace or a termina-
ton of their efforts. They are greatly to be
pitied A constant search for novelties in
dress and ornaments must be worse than
always rolling up the hill that shameless
stone" which always rolled down again when
it reached the top. In fact, the only consola-
ton we can offer the fair sex is that the unfair
sex has monopoly of making Dictionaries
punishment for their pride which has been
boldly stated to be equal in itself to all others
together and quite enough for place worse
than purgatory.
Just now large portion of our male friends
are also illustrating the truth that the fashions
of this world are apt to 60 out. Their mil
liners were expert If they did not import direct
from Paris, and the dress and trimmings fitted
the democratic party 10 perfection so long 40
each man only looked at his friends. Never
was such triumph. The delight Of the first
ladies who adopted the Grecian bend was
nothing to it. But fate compelled both these
fashions to meet other than their own mirrors, !
and, worse still, critics that had styles Of their
own to puff. No doubt public taste is very
bad; the fashionables In both cases say so.
But the public is very wooden-headed, and
would rather have its own ideas than any you