Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1869-05-12
The Two French Queens Of Fashion.
RY lAMEs pARroN.


BY JAMES PARTON.
Eighteen years ago the President of the
Republic Of France betrayed the country
which had trusted him, stole its liberties
in the night, laid robber hands upon its
treasury, dshonored its noblest citizens by
carting them TO jail in prison vans, MUIR
dered in cold blood several hundreds Of in
nocent men and women in the streets OF
Paris, and transported hundreds more TO o
hot, unhealthy region of the tropics. This
was the Andersonville of usurpation. II
transcended all that had ever been done in
that kind, joining to the extreme of das-
tardly neannsss the extreme of audacious
cruelty, and being totally devoid of pallia-
ton or excuse, except that invented by the
head liar of the gang who perpetrated
it. The man in whose name the deed
was done appears to have furnished
nothing but the lies; the audacity, and
what little courage was shown, being sup
piled by others. Mr.. Kinglake's chapter
upon this usurpation Invasion of the Cri-
mea, Vol. !. Oh. XIV strikingly confirmed
by some American narratives to which the
author had no access, exhausts the subject
and avenges the human race, which is
deeply injured whenever mans faith in
man is lessened by the deliberate betrayal
of solemnly accepted trust. Mr. King
lake, | say, has avenged our outraged race;
for which, trust. we are all duly grateful
to him. Nothing remains but for France
to bring the perfidious wretch to trial for
the special wrong he did TO her, and exc
cute upon him the penalty to which he
may be condemned.
As usual in such cases, woman was
found willing to share the bed and booty of
the successful robber. She was young,
beautiful, well formed, ana Of lust such a
mind as to submit joyfully to spend half
the day in trying on articles Of wearing ap-
parel and the other half in displaying
them to a concourse of people. 1t became,
too, and remains an important part of her
duty to amuse, dazzle end aebasa tAe Wp-
mon OF kranee by wearing d rapid success
sion Of the most gorgeous, novel, bewilder-
ing costumes, the mere description Of which
has developed branch of literature, en-
ploys many able writer's, and mainly sup
ports fifty periodicals Here ID q
vain, beautiful woman, living in the
gaze of nations, who has the
plumber of rich kingdom, with which to
buy her clothes, aud the taste OF oonti-
nent to devise them for her; for to Paris
the elite of all tailors, dressmakers, milli-
ners, and hairdressers go from every capi-
tai in Europe. Whatever there is in France
of truly noble and patriotic-gnd theya aTe
as many noblO aud patri6ti0 persons in
France as In any other country--avoids
the vicinity of this woman; while around
her naturally gather the thoughtless and
the interested. The women in this circle
initiate her as closely as women can whose
husbands have not stolen the treasures of
O nation, all except one, II is said, and she
is the real queen of fashion,
Both these leading women have certain
physical defects which they wish to conceal,
as well as certain unusual charms of which
they intend the most shall be made One
is heautiful and tall The other is ugly and
short, but graceful, vivacious, and interest
ing. The hair of one of them growing
scanty behind, all women feel the necessity
OF carrying q pound of horsehair under
their own, and swelled out in the region Of
the back hair to an extent that now seems
incredible II the parting of the hair
widens and begins TO resemble badness,
then frizzing comes in, which covers up
the deficiency. few gray hairs bring
powder into fashion. Other insuficiencies
send panniers on their way round the
world. For these women, and especially
the one who fgnres in the centre of the
group, occupy that conspicuous place to
which for two centuries past more female
eyes have been admiringly directed than to
any other; and there reside near them
band of writer's who live by chronicling
every new device of decoration that appears
upon their persons. So able liberal and
sensible a journal as the Pail Mall Gazette
finds il necessary to station an industrious
member of its staff within sight of
these people, for the sole purpose
of telling the best women in England what
clothes the worst women in France wear
! should suppose, from looking over the
periodicals which publish fashion news
that there must be in Paris as many as a
hundred writer's who derive the whole or
part of their income from describing the
dresses worn in the ancient palaces tenn
pOrarily occupied by the usurper and his
dependents; and many of these writer's do
their work SO well, that their letters are a
most potent stimulator of the passion for
dress which is so easily kindled in the
minds of the ignorant and immature
This poor woman, who is the immediate
cause Of the mischief is, we are told, an
anxious and unhappy being, as we'll she
may be, She struggles to conciliate. A
forced, fixed smile is ever upon her face,
when that face is seen by others. In her
growing anxiety she naturally redoubles
her efforts to dazzle and beguile the peo-
pie in whose sight she dwells, and
on whose money she dresses. When
the hour comes, | hope she will be
mercifully judged, for she has al
ready expiated the venial sin of yielding to
q temptation which only very superior
woinan-one really honest and thorough
bred-could have resisted, II is probable
that she now regards the wearing Of those
costumes merely as her contri-
button towards housekeeping as though
she said to her husband, -" You keep down
the men by muzzling the press and fatter-
ing the army, and fool the women by
wearing the most stunning costumes that
ever struck envy 10 the female heart. -
From the Atlantic MonttlyJor May