New-York tribune., 1883-06-03
FRENCH SOCIAL TOPICS.
THE INFLUX OF "RASTONQUIERES" THE
VALLOMBROSA SCANDAL

Mr.. and Mrs. Levi P.Morton give tns evening
dinner party which will be followed by reception.
II will take diplomatic and finapclal coior.
I Lord Lyons will be one of the guests Baron and
Baroness de Rothschild and the pretty dowager
Countess of Lonsdale have accepted invitations.
On the 25th a ball is to take place at the American
| Legation. Madame Adam will also this evening
entertain distinguished friends at dinner and later
| at reception The guest of the evening VIII De
| Count Won Beust wbllom Austria Ambassador 10
the Elysee The Editress of La N0arefe Rerue mas
among Others invited to meet him NJ. and Mme de
Freycinet NJ. de Lesseps. Count Gourowski ana NJ
M6zieres, of the Academy. The last-named Count
is brotheI-in-law of the King-Father OF Spaln'
Don Francisco de Assist, and is aPole by birth. lie
carried off at Enghen. in the year 1872, by means
of a ladder of ropes, Spanish infanta from her
fathers house.
Madame Adam fearing that she would be pestered
for invitations by the rdstoaqa6res who now iniest
Paris took care that nothing should get into the
journals about her party earlier than this morning
The r. s. V. p. at the foot of the invitation cards
shows that she means it to be select. Rdston-
qaerism is becoming a hideous social plague.
often think an INVASION OF Cloths
and vandals would not be so bad. In
moral sense it would be less pestiferous. Those
rich and aspiring foreigners who crowd here from
heaven knows where, vulgarize everything they
touch. They only think of amusement aud the
satisfaction of petty vanity. In the after-Easter
season they are numerous as they generally winter
at Nice Snow and frost are tonics which they can
not bear-a reason, according to hppocrates, LOT
hope that they may soon become extinct or at least
be soon driven to the wall by those who do not try
to escape from a northern winter. The theatrical
managers solicitous 10 place the rastonqnieres
The pictorial artists paint for them.
Outrageousy snowy fashions are launched by the
dressmakers and milllners. who want to retain the
rdstoHqpieres' custom. Every place OF amusement
is oyerrun by them Their curiosity is unintelhgent
and Unsuitable. When | hear them asking to be
shown the arlstocratc people in a drawng-room.
a, the opera. or elsewhere, | long TO get away to
rome country solitude.
A splendid type of the rdstonqmiere is now pre-
sented by o Duchess who an English coach
mans daughter She married the pateDtee OF
sewing machine On ms death she came into
gigantic fortune and took for her second husband
an Amsterdam picture-dcaler, VINO has purchased
ducal title from, 1t is said, the Republic OF San
Marino. The noble couple set up to be patrons OF
art and literature. ride in showy equipages and
lose no opportunity to give themselves prominence
As the Duchess is unaffected she is not. own
offensive She mas also the advantage OF beng
comely. and tie mother of two charming daughters
Apropos of Italian dukes, l see That MS
Grace of Vallombrosa has brought
action against Mr. Henry LaboIchere for losliing
hIs father The family history of the Vallombrosas
u not an edifying one. | should say hat
;he difficulty that Mr. Labouchere has to rops
with Is the ob.curity of the plaintiffs ances ors.
Ma Ca Anat Is tho Dukes patronymic. II means
"love.essn or lack love- and was clearly q mis-
pomer His Grace the late Duke was too well BE-
loved by that Queen OF sardinia who saw IN her
rirhood at the Court of Naples too much OF Lady
Hamilton not to pick up some OF her ways When
her Majesty aud her royal husband ANONYMOUSLY
lied fronn Turin TO the island OF Sardinia under tho
,rotect;ou of English marines and an English
sauadron Signor Mauca Amat. who was an Islander
made things comfortable for them. The King was
half idiOiic aud n gloomy bigot, and tho
Queen, who was very beautiful, bad cpl
enrean idea, OF life She was an excellent
Catholic alec. Signor Manca Amat resided near the
Straits OF Bonaiacco. He owned an estate there.
and tho Isle Of Asinara so called because It was
stocked with nothing but asses lie was Duke OF
that insnlar ass-farm. IL would appear that he got
into very ba odor with the French military au-
thorities " % ruled Northern Italy, and vas on
snspcionsly good terms with some OF the heads OF
Bouaparte's dishonest commissariat there. When
Eugene Bcaunarlgis ceased TO be Viceroy
of Italy and the King and Queen of SARDINIA
went back 10 Turn, her Majesty took
with her the Manca Amat family. As the
Duchy of Asinara was made q subject OF lampoons
hy those Pedmontese and Genoese satirists VINO
had picked up French ideas, It's ltular was created
Duke OF Vallombrosa. lie had not much honor III
Piedmont and eventually emigrAtcd to France,
where he married lady of the insunerably preten-
tiols and wholly worthless Galard dc Bearn
family.
The present Duke married Des Cars daughter OF
the Conte des Cars and a cousin of Mrs. Rdgways
son.ip-law. the Co.nte de Ganay. will not now
90 into the question Of the peculiar sausage-meat
which, in completely with an lntendent OF whom
he was said to be sleeping partner,
the Duke of Aslnara was accused IN rum oil nav
ing furnished TO one of Napoeons army corps.
Whether the tale true or not, II was believed IN
France and by persons in the habit OF deaung Win
knotty historical problems. The Dnke oil Vaiiom-
brosa made a lucky investment at Cannes many
wears ago. lie has chosen that French town ior his
permanent place of abode. IL is not true as he
swears in his afiidavt that he does not meddle IN
the politics of this country. His mousse
ia centre of Jesuitsm and Bourbon
reSction, and permanent conspiracy Is carried
on there to promulgate the restoration of the e1iled
grand dukes of Italy the King of Naples. and the
Fusionist party here. Cannes is a nest of Italian
ana Orleanist Bourbons. As president of the Yacht
Club. the Duke of Vallombrosa throws dust IN the
fyes of tuft-hunting foreigners, and indeed also
foreigners of distinction. lie has however he con-
trlved to do sol got his name inserted IN the
" AImanack de Gotba." There is nothing on his
own showing, in the affidavit when he sworo
against Mr. Laboucherc TO justify such preten-
SION He does not belong to any historical mouse OF
Italy, and in that country the tact
that he is merely duke does
not 90 for much. Some Germans of high degree.
who have read his affidavit. are furious with tho
Editor of the "Almanach de Gotha 4" for making
mention of the Vallombrosa family. The date on
which this title was created, they observed TO me-
has been omitted. 1t 1917 i believe the
noise Of what he swore will reach to Gotha' ana
L l.aon u-nGI