, 1875-02-28

among her friends as much gold as she vas abie
which she brought down to tho bank in her
coach On the very morning OF the Intended run,
aad 60 enabled the firm to meet all demands
upon them He also traced the use OF pass-
books as far back as the reign OF Queen Annee;
previous to which = customer waH Wont 70 cal
occasionally at this bank and check hls
account in the ledger in the presence OF one OF
the partLers The customer, having agreed that
his account was correct, would sign nis name On
count;" and very frequently the partners slgneo
it - we'll The first pass-book appears to nave
been Issued to Lady Carteret, ln compliance
with request conveyed in letter 30 tnas POE.
sibiy nc may Owe to lady thus 1napsossemeus ~
such primitive banking as that aboEe desc126eo. @
In those early days Of: banklng, adoeo M'.
Price, London BANKERS Issued their OWE notes'
there hare hitherto been stored A"AJ anoso
Temple Bar whole files OF snch pat1auoeee "
Messrs. Child, ail Of which bear the bar itse1,
aad not the MaryGold, as vlGnette MI. =:
Child it appears, in 1923, devised new form Of
prom;ssory notes, with d picture OF Temple Bar
in the left-Land corner but they were dlEcon-
tiuuod before the end ct tho last century,
THE PARIS oPERA-BhLt.
Aparis correspondent, writing to the London
Times on the 8.h Of February, says: Even
amid the excitement caused by the elections.
yegterday's bail at the Opera created much inter-
est. The ball did not prove very successful
device for parisian trnda, for gentlemen were
to ladies in the proportion OF ten 10 one; and
everybody knows that it is not male toilette
which makes the fortunes OF ehopkeepers. It
has been ascartained that out Of $4,000 tickets
sold, there were only 500 for ladies' making
total receipts Of $4,000 frnncs,-thatis to say,
1900 gentlemen's tickets, at 20 francs, and 800
ladies' tickets at 10 francs. Now, considering
that ut least 400 OF the ladies did not stir from
their boxes, and that only 800 OF 400 moved about
among the 1000 black coats-for the 200 tickets
sold do not include those given away,-an idea
may be formed Of tho far from gay appearance
presented by tbs hall and the foyers. at the
very threshold. moreover, goyety. it may sa1o,
ras checked on the lips of the arrivals. Much
fault had beeu found, especially on the opening
day, with the discouragins gloom o. the faGaae;
but this defect. which under ordinary circun1-
stanccs is without real importance becomes mes
isolated position Of the building, moreover, does
not conduce to that contagious gayety which
coursed as it were through all the veins OF tho
old Opera People remembered the enlivening
effect Of the great pyramida1 gas tets which lit up
the corner Of the Rue Lepcllctier and the boule-
wards; the Paris Guards on horseback, who re-
naiued immovable in the full glare OF the boule-
Yards and the gas jets; the masks who passed
close along the brilliantly lit-up and crowded
payements before entering the hall INTO which,
from midnight till 3. N. Parisian folly poured
itself. Now. last night the front OF the Opera,
which has cost France 10000, ,0o0 france, re"
maincd immersed in inpenet1able obscuElty !;
lamps without brilliancy replaced tho pyramids
of gas Jets, and the crowd, kept At respectful
distance. greeted With ironlcal laughter the 1e"
masks who appeared afar off. When the silent
terrace had been crossed and one penetrated be-
low those solemn and imposing vaults. which are
Like the arches OF cloistak the doors opened
aud ono mounted the step of the staircase, from
the top Of which half the public scanned every
disguised woman sshe went tlroushthe oonole
ordeal Of criticism and laughter,
ssAbore the broad passage, dlmly lighted to
stiae laughter as it rose to the lips, and in spite
OF oneself, one began to speak IN = whisper.
Yesterday, mora than over no doubt, sonc1ous
laughter was silenced by those passsges, at once
strange property that they take mp space with,
out forming crowd. But the days which used
to Be, the pride and delight OF the Parikians are
far distant. In those days, some malicious
daughter of Eve would, under tho protection OF
tho domino, tell some unsuspectine riaitor' to
his astonishmcpt, many things which hs thought
usre known to him alone. Now all this has Eono
out Of fashion. Women are no longer sufficiently
good natued to cAafT without spite. and men
have not sufficient refinement to be at once witty
and vell-bred. What is now heard, when any. y.
thing is hoard-for yesterday nobody spoke 70
anybody-are commonplaces without END !;
Jokes Of Questionable taste, and language which
bas obtained popularity in by-streots When l
heard domino for the first time say to iucs-
less visitor, know you you have got q dog
which follows you like remorse, and wife who
avoids you Like plague, was very neerly Pre-
pared to find again the long lost french w ;
but when heard it Tepeated dvo or si1 tunes
without distinction, to men who had neither dog.
nor wife, nor rcmorse. I bethought ma that hu,
man FOL IL was struttlng insolently in palace;
looked il vain for spark Of that sparkling
mirth Of yore. The country is hit more serious
" than is generally thought, and its people
laugh sadly now that thcy lear to provoke 2
alnile."
AN ECCENTRIC PRINCE.
It dida't need Greville to write diary about
tho eccentric Frederick William, ex-Elector Of