Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-03-23

THE RESTORATION OF THE TrILERIEs FRENCH
GOSSIP AND FASHION.
PARIS, FRANCE, March |, 1877.
10 the Editor of tba Eraa prass nd Timas

4 To the Editor of the Free Press and Times;
. Among the subjects most talked about
f lately. here. has been the restoration OF the
, Tuileries. The commission appointed to
examine into the matter is composed of rep
resentative men, including three Senators,
four members of the Chambers of Deputies
Pascal, State Counsellor; Maynard, the In
srector General of bridges and streets, and
others holding civil offices. Under the re-
port of these gentlemen the Tuileries bids
fair to be restored, the whole to be completed
by the first of May, 1873.
The building has many historical associa-
tons. and was the work of various architects
under different epochs. The palace was
commenced by Philbeit under the direction
OF Catherine de Medicis, and was continued
by Jean Bullant. The original plan was very
vast, but the Queen renounced her project
after partial completion and nothing more
WAS done until the time of Henri Quatre
when gallery and the large pavilion of
Flora were added these being the work of
Andronet de CerceaI. Under Louis Quat-
orze Sevan and Doriay added to the build
ing. while under Louis Philippe and the
second empire changes were made which
destroyed much of its artistic beauty, but
made it more habitabe. tho principal reason
for the alterations being. however, that it
| would be better suited to grand fetes.
The result of the incendiarlsm of the Com
mune was the destruction of the aisles that
joined the pavillions of Flora and Massard
and they were torn down. 1t was first
thought wise thing to turn the whole into
gardens, and to train vines and grow hchens
on the ruins, but no one seemed minded to
recall the fierce folly of 1871 or have its
memory preserved in this way. The part of
the palace still existing will be preserved and
restored and regular garden in the form of
a parterre will surround the edifice. Among
the historic associations connected with
those portions that are to be replaced by
gardens is the celebrated SALES des Machines
constructed for the ballets of Louis Quatorze.
| Moliere produced Psyche here and himself
played the roll of Zephyr" After the burn
ing Of the salon of the Palais Royal, the
Royal Academy of Music found temporary
asylum there; the Coniedie Franchise sue
ceeded it and here Voltaire was crowned
after the second representation of Irene.
Then the national convention held its seances
here, and afterward there was a new theatre,
hall for the State counsel and chapel
| erected here. In the ornamentation of the
| projected gardens undoubtedly many of these
| different souvenirs will be recalled.
The suspension of the Droits de rEIomme
has been the occasion of much rabid speech
making upon the part of the Reds. They
attack both NJ. Simon and Gambetta whom
they have looked upon as their mouth piece
in the government. They are continual
thorn in the side of the more conservative
portion and drive President MacMahon over
toward the Orleans princes. 1t is anything
but sinecure to be President of such Re
public as this. You, with only two opposing
parties, cannot comprehend the difficulties
which beset US here, where there are so
many conflicting elements.
The Carnival here was to n great extent
failure and even the masked balls at the
opera are not what they were. The process
sion of B9uf Gras has been abolished alto
gether, and wall goes up from the lovers of
fun and folly as they recall the glorious days
of the late empire when everybody ate,
drank and was merry. either regardless Of
or because of the fate in store for them.
The grand fete at the opera under the
patronage of Madame MacNahon, or as many
prefer to call her here the Duchess of Mag
enta. is now the absorbing topic. 1t is in
tended to make it a very elegant affair and
as it is for charity, no doubt 1t will be sue
cessful. 1t is to aid the sufferers at Lyons.
Much personal regret is felt that the valua-
BILE library of NJ. Jules Janin should not be
preserved intact for the benefit of the city.
The collection was offered to the Institute
providing they would set apart a room for its
occupancy. which they refused to do.
Of all the recent ieunions, Uhat is the |
proper thing to call them now) that of NJ. |
Pierre Verou, editor-in- chief of the Chair |
vari, was by far the most interesting. He at
tracts to his "At-Homes" the creme de Ia
creme of the artistic world. Here one finds |
an array Of singers, prima donnas and musi-
clans who can only be heard elsewhere oc-
casonally and separately. The Duchess of
10 har ,rftht Ia l.
magic spell. At his last Thursday Madles
Albani and Judic, with Capoul and the Hun
garian Remenyi were present and entertain
ed the company. "Reunions" is so decided
ly the fashionable parlance of the day. that
If you forget yourself so far as to Gail it by
any other name your cabby would be very
apt to look upon you as a bourgeois and
with lofty contempt inquire, "To what re-
union do you wish to be driven. Monsieur
Another of these indiyidu,,.s. changed
from the cocher of old times said to cele-
brated musician: "Ah, white gloves and no
watch, Monsieur is going into society" This
remark will be understood when You
aware that at present no man of fashion per-
mits either watch or chain to be visible.
watch chain, especially with charms attached,
is considered a pretention. If u watch be
looked at in company, the action may be
considered either Us an lmpertinence or II
lack of courtesy. The cabby's remark,
however, proved him to be AS well posted
upon fashionable etiquette as the most tasti-
dlous members of tine most elegant clubs;
and this, in fact he is He knows every one,
can point out to you all the well known peo-
pie in Paris, and talk with a half dozen of
them will give you more information in the
way of knowledge of the private history Of
these individuals, whether ministers, soldiers
fin artt tIn,,
obtain in any other way.
And. now for little fashion gossip. Or
ange and scarlet still prevail ill all the ex-
quisite floral garniture which seems more
charming than ever this season. These
colors are so harmoniously blended with
cream and other shades and bronze green
foliage that they are very attractive 1t is
the color of the tulips and the crocus or the
early hyacinth, those harbingers of spring.
Truth compels me to say that ball dresses
are more decollete than they have been for
u dozen years before. Setting prudery aside
and French women, or even Americans
who sojourn here for any length of time
soon do that, present style borders
upon indecency.
In 1887 dresses were worn so decollete'
that Juvernay, a French priest here in Paris,
wrote large volume in which he called
upon the frivolous women to renounce n
fashion whose abuse WAS their disgrace. I'm
your neck and arms" he said,
'you 90 forth from the secret closet of the
Almighty" Later jacques Boileau. also u
priest, II brother of the poet of that name,
took up tho same theme and discoursci
upon. The abuse of nudity" His language
was plain and to the point It dealt sterny
and severely with the bare shoulders and
arms of the women of that day. He might
have saved his satire. 1t had no effect. but
n freak of Madame de Maintenon who was
then the reigning tayorite at the court of
Louis Quatorze, accomplished what the dis
gusted priest had failed to do. The Main
tenon threw around her fair shoulders
mantle of black lace, and all the noble DANES
soon initiated the fashion she had set.
Whether by so doing they We're supposed to
be reinstated in that position from whence
the Able Boileau declared them fallen, his
tory does not declare.
Some fashionable women dress or rather
undress themselves in such a manner that
when they enter II ball room with n skirt
whose train seems to have no end, one feels
inclined to ask if they have not forgotten
the corsage, and left it in their dressing
room. | knew husband OF refined ideas
who, looking with surprise ut the superb
shoulders which his wife only too willingly
exhibited for general admiration, one eve
ming, mnrmured with much annoyance: at
is astonishing, every new dress puy Tor two
full metres more of the stuff, but never sec
it. There never is enough for the waist"
The less my American sisters initiate Paris
in this respect the better for them.
Yours, SHIRLEY.
AMERICAN COMMERCE 1t appears, from
published statistics, that our exports OF pro-
duce during the first seven months of the
present fiscal year exceeded that of 1896
by more than SOB 900 900 and that Of 1871
BY almost SG6 900 900. On the other hand.