The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-02
FRENCH BALLS IN NEW YORK.
Disgracefr1 Orgies in Which Prominent Men
Take Leading Parts.


Joe Howard in Philadelphia Press.
! went to one Of these balls this week must
say never, in my younger days saw In any
place, of any nature, such orgies as characterized
that occasion In addition to the great Academy
itself, these balls utilized two halls-one across
the street, known as Irving Hall, which Is con
nected with the Academy by bridge, the other,
Nilsson Hall, which is around the corner, but
connected by a doorway-and also the basement
OF the Academy. Supper is provided IN irving
Hall, but the basement and Nilsson Hall are
used as wine rooms while large room at the
very top Of the building is used for bar purposes
1t is not only difficult but simply impossl-
bic to describe in cold type the scenes wit
messed in the wine rooms If you can
imagine from one to two thousand men and
women noisily intOXcated-not drunk-SlttlnS
at tables in every possible attitude, in positions
of familiarity not easily transferable to paper
drinking, smoking until the air was dense. all
shouting, some pounding the tables, the whole
company laughing wildly, and the entire scene Il
kind of hystericky pandemonlum, you Will get a
faint conception of what | saw at midnight. But
as between that and what was observed at or 4
o'clock on the following morning in the same
place, these earlier developments were as the
mustard seed to the many branched tree it be-
comes | have been to these balls many years.
and while, with very few exceptions, decent
women do not attend them, majority Of the
men who patronize them stand in reputable. re
spectacle influential ranks of society.
Wine is served in the private boxes Any
man leelS at liberty 10 address any NOllllll III
masque, and any woman masked or unmasked,
is at liberty to address any man. Acquaintance
are made, familiarities are developed; what at
other times would be regarded with horror, re
pugnance and disgust there appears to be per
fectly proper-certainly normal The highest
officials patronize these balls, and sanction the
wild hurrahdom of the scene, not only by their
presence but by their participation. Wine flows in
rivers; hard liquors not sold in the Wlne-rOom;
believe, in fact am quite confident, that if you
care for whisky brandy you must go to the
har-room for it. The suppers provided are mea-
gre and worthless. The wine, down to l o'clock.
is fair; after that it is beastly. The walters
keep cool heads, and play tricks upon travellers.
Hundreds of bottles are but half emptied by
their purchasers, and in the smoky haziness of a
require much genius on the part Of a sober
waiter to palm off one of these half-emptied bot
ties upon his. semi demented patron. L have
seen women thrown from the dress circle in the
Academy to the floor; ] have seen them holsted
from the floor to the boxes
Great confusion exists, and surges of human
ity rush from point to point, guided by the hiar-
ity and ELUSIVE uproar of people who are looking
at these professional developments. Viewed from
the serene and smoky seclusion of an upper box,
the floor Is kaleidoscope Of crazy humanity.
Viewed from chair placed on top of a table the
wine-loom is a picture of Inferno let loose. The
corridors are professional with vulgarity, kept
just this side of indeceney by the presence of
friendly policemen. Not to pursue the point
further find that as wealth expands here taste
for abnormal excitement grows. The popularity
of this style of entertainment increases. Each
years ball is an improvement pecunarily upon
its predecessors and each years ball is morally
a retrograde from that which preceded it.