The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-02
A PARIS PALACE.
The Curious story of the Hotel I'm which
Mime. ne sRgan Entertained
the Prince Of wales.
whitehall Raview, May II,

IW0ItSnhll ftAVleW, MAY ~
One OF the greatest affairs Of the season was
the ball given to the future King and Queen
Of England by tho PrinCesso de Sagan, nce
Seillierp, in her splendid palace in the kueSt.
DOminque-the famous house built by Hope
the millionaire. This grand mansion Is the
model of what French nObeman's town es-
Establishment should be- as the Due de MOu-
chy's and the Due de ID ROchefOucauld DOu-
deauViIes are models OF what French no
bleman's country house should be- The enter
tainment given by the heircss OF the wealth Of
the Seilleres to the heir apparent and her royal
hghness was quite one Of the greatest social
events which has taken place in the capital Of
France since Paris put on her weeds OF widow
hood on September 4, 1870. The ball was
opened by quadrilIe danced by his royal high
ness and Nine. de Sagan, Raymond de Sell
iere and the princess, the Duo de ChartreS
and the Crown Princess, and the DuChesse de
ChartreS and the Crown Prince Of Denmark.
Some Of the most notable people present were
the Due de NemOurs, Prince Henry Of the
Netherlands, the ex-King Amadeo OF Spain,
the Prince of Orange, the Prince de JOinville,
Lord Lyons, and most Of the Corps Diploma
tiquc. The prettiest woman present was,
undoubtedly the Duchesse de FeZnnsaC. In
one OF the figures Of the COtiliOn fans were
distributed on each Of which was written an
aCrOstic on the name Of the lady who received
it, That written on the fan presented to the
Princess OF Wales was the work OF the Mar
outs de Massa. In the days of the Second
Empire he was always the right-hand man OF
the Empress when there was any question OF
private theatriCals, Charades etc, at the pal
ace AIphonse de RothschiId and his wife gave
q splendid ball In honor Of the Prince OF Wales
on Friday, at their hotel in the RuG st. Flor
cntin the same in which the great IaIleyrnnd
dieC); they brcakfnsted with the Princess Ma
thilde in the Rue de Bcrri on Thursday, and
there was q ball at the British embassy.
The palace in the FaubOurg st. Gcrmain,
inhabited by the Prince de Sagan, cost Mr..
Hope, who built it, 100000 francs, not count
! L.. -, Thn TEyifh bn
furniture was insured for 5 ,0OO, 900 francs; in
those days no insurance company would uD-
dertake to insure the furniture Of ,the palace
for the works of art were considered price
less. Hopes dinners were very celebrated;
he had three dining rooms, the first for six,
the second, in solid mahogany, for twenty
five and the third for 300 guests. 1t was in
| this last room, which Is decorated with the
most splendid panel by DiaI, that supper
was served on ball nights. Although
essentially financier and man Of
business, Hope was not wanting in gal
| lantry, and upon ono occasion, hay
| ing heard lady CareleSSly express a
! fOndneSS for yiOlGtS, he invited her to dinner
and had the whole dning-roOm decked with
| these flowers; the florists bill WIS 1000 francs.
| It has been asserted on good authority that
! none Of the balls nor parties given by this eX-
| traOrdinary man ever cost him less than lO0,
| 600 francs 1t is notorious that Hope was
anything but CalOus to the charms OF the ta1r
sex, and although in his conversation always
| the most discreet Of men, after his death q
book was found in which he had registered all
! his principal affairs, with notes as to this or
that popularity of the fair enslaver. One OF
his sultanas, by name Jenny Colon,
Of the Opera Comique, left the
millionaire and all the splendOrB of the hotel
| in the Rue st. Dominique for the garnet OF
the poet Gerard de NervaI, whose tragic end
is but too famous. Hope died in 1855, and his
! hotel was put up by auction at 100000, but
as no one offered that sum, it was lowered TO
| 100000, with no better success. 1t was
eventually bought by the Baron de Seiliere
the father of the PrnCesse de Sagan} for
| | ,2OO,050 francs Among Hopes private papers
were found some rather odd bills and docu-
mentS. His plumbers bill was 100000 francs.
W
The feeding of the animals in a menagerie
! Is always carefully done, because their lives
depend on the adaptability Of their food The
Philadelphia Times says that the daintiest
eaters in the Geological Garden are two
chimpanzees. They breakfast on weak tea,
with plenty Of milk and sugar, and bread
spread with honey. They lunch at 10 O'Clock
on bananas and oranges, dine at , on rice or
tapiOca, served with sugar and sherry, and
sup at on rice and milk. The seals are less
troublesome to feed, but more expansive, for
five of them eat daily eighty pounds OF fresh
| fish. Formerly the lions, tigers and other
CarnivOra We're costly, but Of late they have
| been fed on horse meat, which is very cheap.
| The buffalOeS, deer and elephants live now on
the grass in the grounds. The rhinOCerO3
is the greedie8t of the lot; but it is quantity
that he Graves, without much regard to quail
ity. He will eat $50 pounds Of hay every day,
and bushel Of potatoes is to him like plate
Of strawberries to a hungry man. His food
costs $40 week, which Is as much as that OF
an elephant The giraffe has to be fed carefully,
because he has no regard for his long, narrow
throat, and starts one mouthful down before
! the one before it has reached his stomach,
thus choking himself. Common mOnkeSs
eat nearly everything that is offered 50 do
| the ostriches and cassO varies, but some Of
the insectivOrOus have to be patiently catered
to. The moose is hardest to please, and
misses the tWigs of his native woods