The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-04-15
Eugenie's Old Clothes.

Empress Eugene, who sets the FASH
ions of the civilized world, has a sale of
cast-on dresses every year, and. as she
rarely wears dress twice, the number
sold Is always very great. A Paris
letter-writer gives graphic account of
a sale just terminated. He saws that
the custom was established by the royal
families of the Tuileries long before the
great Revolution, aceeded by the Em-
press Josephine, continued under the
Restoration, maintained by the Prin-
eesses OF the House of Orleans, and kept
up with great spirit under the present
reign. A long gallery, which runs
along the basement story of the palace,
looking into the garden just opposite
the Prince Imperiars winter walk, Is
fitted up from one end to theother with
wardrobes. This i called the De
Froquc of the palace. 1t is here that
the refuse dresses and cast-off apparel
OF the royal and imperial ladies who
succeeded each other for the last hum
dred years i'm the occupation of the
Tuileries are invariably borne, when
rejected from the floor above.
These wardrobe cupboards, numer-
Gus and extensive as they are, get gem
orally well filed during the year, and
when the four seasons are considered
thoroughly over, "a sale is made of the
whole, whe,e every article is priced
beforehand, and visitors are admitted
to view and purchase without the OBJ
servance of further ceremony than the
presentation of an invitation card from
one of her Majesty's attendants, to
whom the privilege of granting them
belongs. The sale of the regal ward
robe at the Tuileries is conducted on
the strictest principle of equity. The
shutters of the long gallery are closed,
and 1t is lighted from one end to the
other with lamps and candelabra, so
that the light is stronger than it would
be We're the daylight admitted, As the
ceiling is low, and the windows sunk
deep into the wall. Every article is
ticketed, and of course no deviation
from the original decision can possibly
be allowed.
A long line of stretchers are placed
all down the middle of the gallery, the
doors of the wardrobes on either side
are flung open, and the visitor, walk
ing slowly down ON one side and ne
turning on the other, makes choice of
what may suit her taste, and, inscrib-
ing the number it bears upon a card,
hands the latter to the attendant in
waiting at the door, and departs. The
stretchers are occupied by the shawls,
and the wardrobes by the dresses, the
shelves by the under linen, while q sort
of counter at the further end of the gal.
lery is filled with the champignons, on
xx-tn n
headdresses. The white satin dress,
most splendidly embroidered in silver,
with the tunic of buillonee gnuze and
silver mouches, confined by bands of
p0nceau velvet, i'm which her Majesty
went to the opera with the King Con-
sort of Spain, was not quoted higher
than the nankeen-colored dress aud
Jacket, braided with green, which was
recognized as the uniform invented by
the Empress for the drive at Fontaine-
bleau.
TO be sure the buttons were of npaIs-
chite and set i'm gold, but the material
of the dress could scarcely be consider
eel as bearing any value whatever.
The shawls were principally of French
manufacture, and mostly for summer
wear, the cloaks and mantles, deprived
OF their lace fur, are unattractive. The
utmost exaggeration seems to exist i'm
the prices put upon the bonnets. In
the first place the article itself Is out of
fashion almost Us soon a. seen: I'm the
next, it possesses no resources whatey-
er, and above all, it is liable to greater
deterioration than the dress. The hatr
1t of leaning back in the carriage, which
has become so general, destroys the
bonnet Immediately, and renders it
shabby in form, even while still bright
and fresh in color. The proceeds of the
sale are generally brought up by the
Wallets and women of the Wardrobe,
who dispose of what remains unsold TO
the great dealers of Paris, who again
sell them to their customers at inn
mense prices.