Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-04-17

much more Interested are they IN ehcl
Others identity.
The breathing becomes difficult il
these lofty rooms, heavy with perfume
and you fe.mount the spiral staircase
On the landing Of the next floor yot
find large picture displayed, whicl
furnishes y0u with the mot de fenigme
The painting, we'll executed du reste,
represents beautiful woman reclining
at full length upon a sofa, and the igur,
has no veil save black mask, which
she holds across the face. In the room
to which this masked beauty guards the
entrance, we find a number Of unculti
waited Gotbs, who prefer the selfish
pleasure Of a cigar TO the charms Of fe.
male society, and through the smoky
atmosphere we can dimly discern the
lineaments Of many who direct the dra-
matte tastes of the world A floor
higher brings us to yet another set Of
rooms, where cards are vainly spread
tonight, at least, the tapis vert has nc
attractions to avail against the charms
of unrecognized greetings. Yet another
fight OF stairs. past windows Of stained
glass, brings us TO long studio, hung
round with paintings, and ornamented
with table that groans under the weight
of massive plants Of pates de foie gras
and beakers of champagne. Here ton
CUES are loosened by the flowing bowl,
and we learn that the fairy palace, in
which the Titamas below are holding
court, in which Puck is playing so
many tricks, and where dainty sprites
unnnmbered are reveling with mortal
men, is no other than the hotel Of M.
Arsene Houssaye, the famous author Of
Les Grandes Danes. D Zd
Can this be Paris then, and are these
the men who suffered so bitterly and
who fought so hardly less than two
years ago2 ITEMS, vous, VOLTA chez nous,
com ment ca va2 The speaker behaved
like hero at the beginning of the war
and he expiated his heroism by an i'm
prisonment of seven bitter months on
the outer frontier Of Silesia. But he is
bright and CHEEKY as when l last saw
him at a similar scene just three years
ago. Ex uno dice omnes; the men are
all laughing and joking as though war
had never carried OF two provinces and
many of their dearest relatives. AS to
the women assembled here, what have
they to do with anything less frothy than
sumbler Of champagne2 And in sooth
one cannot blame them for making light
of miseries which would crush them into
helplessness could they be felt. At all
events, let me not attempt TO be the me-
mento mori at a fete when the fulness of
life beats through every heart; let me
rather try to enter into the spirit of a
scene to which, as a stranger, the host
has bade me welcome. He himself is
on bed of sickness; but, unwilling to
postpone merry making on which all
Paris has been reckoning for weeks, he
has deputed his son, a famous hellenist,
to do the honors of fiesta which
has much that is classic and more that
is essentially Southern in its outer char
acteristics. Such mixture of classes
could not be witnessed ia any other
Northern capital. The men assembled
within these hospitable walls comprised
all the notabilities Of Paris. They wore
no masks; and he who ran through the
rooms might read on the bright faces of
those present the names of all that are
most distinguished in every walk of life.
Authors, journalists, artists, ambassa-
dors, ministers, even fnanciers, were
there-the last-named, not enhancing
materially the beauty or the wit of the
meeting; and if do note their names it
is because should have to give list of
all the celebrities of the Partisan world.
Moreover, it is not allowable TO men
ton any of the ladies present; for the
masks which they all retained until sup
per were supposed to cover all with an
equal veil. As matter of fact many
of the DISCUSSES were quite impenetra-
BILE. The mummy to which / have al
lused is supposed to be for Russian
Princess; but | refrain from mentioning
her name, because the only facts patent
to all were, that she spoke several Ian
guages with equal facility, and that her
form was beautiful Then famous po-
etess, wife of celebrated statesman, was
certainly there; but as she appeared in
two complete costumes of different
colors, aud often walked about with
another lady similarly habited, she puz.
zled the whole assemblage. ! felt quite
sure, from the voice, that | detected q
tall heroine in recentwar; but her hair
was Jet black, whereas it should have
been blonde, and she defed all my at
tempts to make her discover her identity.
Then there was little lady in white,
who spoke to every man in the rooms in
his own tongue, and to every Italian in
his own dialect Side by side with all
these grandes danes, who kept their in
cognito unimpeached, were scores of
others who make up for the compulsory
yelling Of their features by the brilliancy
of their attire. AS drove homo through
the early dawn the fresh morning air
acted like shower-bath on ideas relaxed
by hours spent in an atmosphere of pat
chouli, and sent me TO oed IN 9 semi
mood wondered If in
the palmiest days of the Empire, any of
M. Arsene Houssaye's famous Venetian
masqHerades could have been more bril-
liant. ss a spectacle than that of 1873
the first which has been given By the
author of Les Grande DANES
since the AIMEE terrible of the GERMAN
WuFN