The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-13
A FASHIONABLE soIREE.

"And the nightingales softly are singing
In the musical moonlighted air,
And the Ministries their music are strfnging,
And the dancers for dancing prepare.
A quiet home there Is, not far from the
Mechanics Institute, on Dryades street,
where old traditions are kept sacred ana the
religion Of family ties is held Immaculate,
where the statue Of honor is househoio
god among the men, and modesty snfiiie
before which the women kneel and worsh' O.
Riches there are but a means of being otLaTS~
table and giving Joy to fellow-creaturt<5. The
parlors are not gaudy, but have that solid and
tasteful look which gives nothing to mere
show and everything to elegance and artistic
wealth, richer to the educated Hind than the
piled up treasures Of Golconda. On last Fri
day night the quiet family WAS up and In
arms, the young men clad In all the majesty
of the white cravat, spotless cambria shirt,
| and raven black suit; the young ladies grace
| fully bedecked In the fanciful and variegated
costumes that make beauty lovelier. The
| spacious halls of the mansion were gorgeous
| ly lit up and brilliantly adorned with flowers
and night was made brighter than day with
| music, light and loveliness
The friends of the family were invited there
! to u ball and the "muse Of tho many twink
| ling feet was to hold sway for tho night in
| the respondent halls.
| In consecutive and brilliant parties, after
| the clock had struck ten, the invited guests
came in and soon filled the rooms with friend
| ly presence, all the while select portion of
| the German Military Band discoursng sweet
and scientific music.
The writer who had known all these enjoy
ments before, but had gradually sunk into the
grim determination of doing away with and
abandoning all this poetry for the more serious
work of life, found all of a sudden his old i'm
stincts reviving.
It was like picture of youth and olden
times fairy forms In pink, blue, white and
mauve interminging in an ever varying and
harmonious picture; goddesses in shape. dis
playing beauty in all its radiant phases before
his bewildered eyes. Light there was, and
flowers and the sparkle of diamonds and the
still brighter sparkling of dark blue and hazel
eyes, eyes that make music in the heart, and
sylph-like FORMS full of the radiance OF youth,
that compose heavenly harmony In the cir
cumambient air, alive with the musical notes
of thousand ripping voices, soft toned. To
say that he did not like the picture or apprect-
ate it would be sin and shame.
But to particularize this waking dream OF
youth ana beauty.
In a multitudinous yet symmetrical ebb
and flow they passed on, in the giddy dance
or graceful promenade. the beaux OF the hour
and the bellies OF the evening, all smiling, all
happy, 2 varlega ed panorama OF what might
One, fair-haired, with sky-blue dress
matching the ceruIean hue of her eyes, first
attracted attention by her graceful demeanor
and the artistic pearl trimmings on her azure
robe
Another, a brunette, sister of the fair haired
one, shone beautiful in white silk polonaise
dress with grenadine trimmings, adorned
| with fringes of the lily Of the valley.
A third sister, whose dark hair reverberated
the married light of gas and flowers gave
additional grace to white damasse grena-
dine silk dress trimmed with blonde lace.
Another, dark haired also, whom nature in
lazy mood, seemed to have made small In
achieved wore an apricot silk dress, trim
with taratan and garlands of pink flowers.
Near her lovely bride. whose orange
flower garland has, scarcely a week since,
ing in a princesse damasse silk dress, trim
med with the fair lily of the valley, which
neither weaves nor spins, yet is more. richly
dressed than Solomon In all his glory"
whose folds were borne by affair lady, in
whose dark hair, artistically arranged, shone
in beautiful antithesis white ivory comb.
She was followed by delightful blonde
dressed Ia blue damasse silk, with court
train of the same color, adorned with blush
roses and blonde lace.
Another wore very becomingly pale green
silk with Chambery overdress, trimmed with
SAITH and white flowers. Coming after her
was lady, ~ beauteous debutante in her
teens, In simple white muslin trimmed with
white lace, her snowy neck set off by "a black
velvet necklace.
Then came, as poets dream one with pink
roses In her hair. She was dressed In green
IL ~.~I
fiounces Of crimson velvet and blonde lace in
termingled with roses. Nothing could be
more tasteful or richer than that divine toilet,
and none ever adorned form more perfect
and elegant.
Another lady, "baonde CONNIE les bles"
pretty, refined and graceful, wore black
velvet polonaise, trimmed with blue fringes.
One, a debutante-lovely RS an April morn
lng-her dark blue eyes shining evangelical
~ under her dark eyebrows and raven hair
adorned with blush roses wore a pink and
green dress that was nfsch admired.
but snail not the widows be mentioned, that
best and most dangerous portion of feminin-
! 10y faIplly there were not many Of them,
.DuI one there was fesplendent in black silk,
trimmed with black Feathers and the richest
lace. ''A'~,
we cannot describe all the fine toilets or
continue TO hint at all the beautiful misses and
! !aueS VINO adorned those spacious halls on
that memorable evening Ut would be work
SUCH as the strength of Tit ans would in vain
undertake, and the imapin alton of poets use-
lessly pursue ''''A -
We will not, however, cl, ,se before mention
,mg one belonging to that class, before which
we DOW 10 reverence and whose footsteps we
adore, that is an old ladv ono wbo has kent
In her heart all the freshp ess If Youth which
beams in her eyes, and q made translucent
Sho every gesture # her gifted person.
ohe was dressed In hea- Nv black velvet dress
trimmed with the dair ~ p,a Tito lace Her
rich and full white hair .o h;om tho chiyalrna
GIrs-r
, ~ surrounding loo ked at in admiration
.l,u reverenee were ad orned with white lace,
y ,e0ythning,y accompani ed by white feather.
~, JUN una beauty 1nsI ire enthusiasm, but old
sSot ou'nanus respet It, for, as the immortal
,o nTu hugo says, ~ iere is fire in the eyes OF