The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-05-07
Tho Two French Queens Of Fashion.

kfiehtseu wears aeb ths President the
.ISepublic ofFfance hefflyed the ou4try
wElch had trusted nm, stole IL hbeties
in4he f1pht, AID robberk handt upon its
-treagury, tdisIonored its hoblest Citizens by
-cartino them TO iail in prison vans, muir
Tdered IN cold blood Bevefel bundfeds IN
nocent men and women in the streets Of
and transported hppdreds,h toa
hot, unhealthy region Of the tropics. This
was the Andersonville of usurpation. IL
tanscended all that had everbeen done in
that kind, Joining to the extreme OF das-
tardly the extreme Of audacious
tcrudIfyfand being totally devoid Of palia-
: ton r excuse, except that Invented BY the
head liar of the gang who perpetrated
it The man in whose nam the deed
Was dotb appeafs 20 fhye mrnished
nothing but the hos; the epdecitB tapd
what little eoumge was sshovng being up
Piled by others. Mr.. Kinglake's chapter
upon this usurpation Invasion of the Cri-
mea, Vol. /. on. XIV ~strikingly confirmed
by.some American naratiyea TO which the
authorized no access, exhausts the subject
and ayenges the human race, which Ia
deeply injured whenever mans faith in
man Is lessened by the deliberate betrayal
ola solenmly aeoepted trust Mr.. rKing-
/ lh"DI Ivy JUS nNNhNlI .bhA "
f6tl Witch, thrust. We are an Jlaly efAteA1I
10 him. Nothing remains but for France
to bring the perfdious wretch to trial for
the special wrong he did to her, and exc
cute upon him the penalty u which he
mp M pshS G"q II g%ch cases woh6n Jss
found willing to share the bed and booty Of
the successful robber. She was young,
beautiful, well formed, and Of just such a
mind as TO submit joyfully TO spend half
the day in trying on erucles 81 wearing APP
paueI, and the other half IN displaying
! Them 10 q concourse or people. Il became,
too, and remains.Hn iuportant part of her
duty 10 aniuse, dazzle, md debase the wo-
men of France, by wearing O rapid nuooess
sion of the most gorgeous, novel, bewilder-
ing costumes, the mere description Of which
has developed aibranch of literature, en-
ploys many able writer's, and mainly sup
ports fifty periodicals. Here il a
vain, beautiful woman, living in the
gaze of nations, who. has the
| plumber of a Itch kingdom, with which TO
buy Der clothes and the taste Of q CONT
mont TO devise them for her; for to Paris
the elite Of all ~tailors, dressmakers, milli-
ners, and hairdressers go from every CAPT
tal in Europe. Whatever there Is in France
Of truly noble and patriotic-and there are
az many Node and patriotic 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
a nation; all except one, tits said, and she
Is the real queen VI fashion.
Both these leading women have certain
physical defects which they wish 10 conceal,
as well az certain unusual charms Of which
they intend the most shall be made. One
is beautiful and tan. The other is uglyand
short, but graceful, vivacious, and interest.
ing, The hats of one of them growing
scanty behind, an women feel the necessity
Of carrying a pound of horsehair under
their own, and swelled ont in the region Of
the back hair to an extent that now SCENT
incredible. Ii the parting Of tho hail
widens, and begins 10 resemble badness,
| then frizzing comes in, which. covers .gI
the deficiency. a few gray hairs brine
powder into fashion. Other insuficienciei
send panniers on their way round the
world. For these women, and especially
the one who hgnres in the centre Of the
group, occupy that conspicuous place &c
whichlfor two centuriesphst more femal,
eyes have been admiringly directed than tC
any other; aud there reside near them 9
band OF writers who live by %phroniclinl
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 10 station an industrious
member of is staff within sight o
these people, FOR THE sole Iprnpos,
Of telling the best women in England wha
clothes the worst women in France wear
Ishoull -Rnpposa,. hom. looking over thC
periodicals. which publish fashion news
that there must be in Paris as many as
hundred writer's who derive the whole Of
part of their income from describing tn,
dresses worn in the ancient palaces TEN
porarily occupied by the usurper aud hi
dependents, and many of those writer's Dc
their work so well, that their letters are
most potent stimulAtor of the passion fo
dress whieh~is no ~easilya kindled-in Oh,
mindsof the Ignorant and Immature,
This poor woman, who is the immediate
oausefof the mischief, iS We ara told, M
anxious and unhappy being, as well she
may be. She struggles TO conciliate. A
forced, fixed smile is ever upon her face,
when that face is seen by others. In hei
growing anxiety, she naturally redoublei
her efforts TO dazzle and begnile the PEG
Pile in whose sight she dwells, and
ON whose money she dresses. WheI
the hour comes, 1 hope she will b.
mercifully judged, for she has al
ready expiated the venial sin Of yielding u
a temptation which only q very superior
woman-one really honest and thorough,
bred could have resisted, 9Itis probabl,
that she now regards the wearing Of thosI
tremendous costumes merely as her contri
button towards housekeeping; as though
she said 20 her husband, " You keep down
the men by muzzling the press and flatter
ing the army, and / fool the women by
wearing the most stunning costumes thai
ever struck envy 20 the female heart. ~
From The Atlantic Monthly for My. 4. ' r.r