, 1873-06-15
THE FRENCH SALONS or TO-DAY.

united TO the oldest families Of France, but the
blood Of Lafayette is in her vains-aha ia =
Liberal as we'll as her husband; and though they
have both belonged till the present time to tho
Orleanist party, they ara quite at home in the
Republic Of III. Thiers.; Besides the diplomatic
body, which naturally Is always great centrs Of
attraction, there may be aeen in Madame de
Remusat's rooms the representatives Of all the
old partiea, as well as Republicans even
Of the deepest dye Count Arnim,
with his high forehead and his inquisi-
tive eye, will be near some Deputy Of
Gambettats party; IA Arago will be announced
Immediately after Clermont-T Tonnerro; people
look At each other With some curiosity. The
sentation) at some theatre where the ladies' OF
society turn their glnsses on the ladies' OF the
ha1f-world, and where the young dandies stare
at such men as Dumas the younger. About. or
the most famous critics and dramatic authors.
Il may also be compared to the short truce Of
two armies, when tho officers are allowed to mix
and exchange newspapers and cigara. 4 deop
feeling of hostility is felt running under the soft
manifestations Of worldly politeness saw a
lady, the other day, ahudder when she heard tho
Deputy who wrote at Lyons the famous note,
"Shoot al these men, ION the margin Of re-
port But II. ChallemelLacour has bean Pro-
lessor in the university, he is . scholar, and is
quite capable OF playing his part in salon.
At II. de Remusat' receptions, as we'll as ut all
the official receptions, only one element is miss
ing,-the Bonapartists are not invited by the
Ministers OF N. ThierB: But the Empire had last
ed go long that they had become quite an impor-
tant element in French society: The diplomats,
cannot drop them completely; but it Ia: only in
their houses that. they are to be met. Princess
Orloh, who lives in the heart OF the Faubourg
st. Germain, receives more than any other MEM
Der OF the diplomatic body;. and l saw, q few
Due de Gramont, for the first time since tho war.
All eyes were directed on him-on the tall and
majestic form Of the man who had played with
tho deBtinies Of France with leVlty worthy OF
the younger days Of his famous ancestor; Not
far from him WAS Marshal. Canrobert, 30 long an
intimate friend OF the Emperor, still respected for
the great courage he displayed at the battles be-
fore Metz. Yon can hardly take step in one OF
these reunions without meeting some suggestive
name or person. Here is tho Comte de Paris
talking to some Deputy on the book he has just
published On the condition Of the working-men
in America; not far from him glides the Ouch
esse de Mouchy, who is "a Murat snd who re-
grets in her heart the glories Of the Imperial
court. That young officer yonder, Count Beug-
Rosters, On tho 10th Of March, when the old
General Was shot he himself barely escaped,
and came back to Versailles with, his uniform IN
rags. The old General with the white beard Is
is answerabls for the maintenance OF order in
the Communistic Capital These gentlemen, COW
cred with crosses and ribands Of al coiors.
are quite unknown; and they .re seen
even % The little riband Of the Legion OF
Honor. The other night, ut the new Prefecture
of police, I glanced q moment through the win
dow, and ssw the ruins ct all the palaces and
houses which have been burnt round tho sainte
Chapelle, and wondered how the noble spire had
been saved. Was It possible! all these flowers,
and this music, and this quiet urbanity it
only the dream OF 81 hour In this palace Of
the police, could not help remembering day
when I WAS riding on the plateau Of Chat1llon,
cally. She was the wife Of policeman, had run
away from Paris, and was finding her way to
Versailles, ignorant Of tho fate OF her husband
How distant all these memories seem already,
and it it wore not for the awful skeletons Of our
palaces, how unreal all this seems nowl We
have all heard Of the balls des Tistimes nfter the
terror; We also have our balls, where the victims
Of yesterday meet the victims Of tomorrow.
One Of the finest and most hoBpitsble houses
in Paris is the hotel of the Countess Dnchatel,
widow Of one Of the last Ministers OF Louis
Philippe. The magnificent collection OF pictures
would Be enough to attract any body; and be-
sides, this salon has the privilege OF uniting the
OrleaniBt and the Legitimist society. It Is in
such places that you can batter understand the
difficulties Of the Orleanist party, which, BY its
principles Is almost drawn to the Republican
side, while socially II has Always o6en d1AWu To
ward the Legitinists. And the Legitimists, un-
fortunately, have tho most untraotablo leader in
the person Of tho Comte de- Chambord. For
many montha the hope of = complete fusion be-
tween the twb branches OF the royal family Was
naturslly tho occasion OF the most cordial fusion
of two societies which before had little in common
The young Duchess snd Marchioness OF the 40
bic faubourg were only too glad to abandon the
solitary and gloomy salons where their mothers
had cherished for years the fires OF hatred
against modern France, modern ideas, and 1880 !;
the handsome Duchesse de Lnrochefoucau1t-Bis-
accia opened her house, which was once guarded
like the paradise Of legitimacy, to the colleagues
Of her husband in The Chamber. The Legitimissts
are, socially speaking, such an important ele-
ment in French society that this fusion wasquite
an event in itself. The Liberala, to their great
delight, found That there we're many men in the
Legitimiet camp who were very open to progress
aive ideas the Legitimsts, in their turn found
that the Liberals were not all Of the school Of
the Commune; but this happy union did not
last long. and the letters OF the Comte de Cham
bo1d have again disunited the ranks OF tho mon
archical army. The connections which have
been formed will, however, not be broken i'm
mediately.