Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-21

building in 1875 grave doubts were felt
OF their propriety. They were declared
to be "prejudicial to the artistic conserva-
ton of the monument" and no one who has
ever seen them will doubt it.
Before IL pm. an immense crowd has
already formed around the opera and the
place of the opera is a wide square, looking
down the avenue Of the opera at the juno
ton of the Grand Boulevard. On either
side are rows of great cafes and restau-
rants. The crowd surges in the open
square; the restaurants and cafes blaze
with special lights; an open way Is being
forced for carriages; and at the eastern cor
ner OF the great front entrance of the opera
very curious crowd of masks is being
given entrance They are of the free list,
and they come as early as they can. Fac
tory girls from Belleville, little laundresses
from Suresnes, market girls and little sales
girls from the mean shops of old Paris,
concierges' daughters.
The free list, forming the dregs of the
opera balls, is absolutely essential to their
gayety. Any person, male or female, so
that one be good looking and young, may
make application for free entrance a week
beforehand, at the proper bureau The in
spector inspects.
Yes, you will do Your name address,
and in what costume will you come"
They are particular about costumes.
Everything that might possibly touch poll
ties is rejected. No one, not even pretty
girl, may come as policeman or a soldier
of the present day. The recipient of the
Tree ticket Is told also that the costume
must be fresh-looking and handsome Of
ten these young people will pawn their
Sunday clothes to hire a fetching disguise
They come early and stay late. They are
bound to dance and dance and dance. They
do three-quarters of all the dancing that
is done. No one could mistake them The
young men lack In elegance what they
make up in vigor.
1t Is after midnight and the ball Is open
There comes trooping in the more aristo-
cratic public, the tourists, the provincials,
the sightseers, scattered individuals and
couples seeking with a natural hesitation
and timidity to get a glimpse of that in
which they have no part The Paris great
world, in Its various ranks and rounds
The ladies are in ball costume and masked.
All have their boxes, where they sit to look
and listen, If they be of peculiar correct
ness of mind
The ball is at its height at 1 am. The
grand cortege of the beauties of all ages
the triumphal entrance of the ship of
beauty, the passing of the bridge of beauty
or whatever the particular event may be-
according to announcement. has been well
coined and apDlauded. All is animation.
Society ladies are beginning to grow dis
creetly slittish, the young clubmen in the
lower boxes ere beginning to be noisy, the
free entrance people are being taken to the
buffet for champagne, the tourists have
forgotten their strangeness. The foyers and
the Hobbies, the corridors and the grand
staircase are as crowded as the dance
floor of the auditorium surrounded by its
boxes and tie full length of the stage be-
Lind. The crazy strains of three Hun
garian orchestras strike on the ears as one
Is elnowing through the crowd in various
quarters.
1t has always been hard to make them
dance at the masked balls of the opera
No orchestra director has fully succeeded in
doing this since the days of Louis Philppe
sixty years ago. Then the eccentric Mustard
held the baton-"the king of the quadrille"
as his contemporaries named him People
came simply to watch his maneuvers. On
each side of him he placed twenty-four
V!oltns with altos and contra bassos in full
proportion, with fourteen French horns
and twelve trombones to assist in maxim
that Internal racket which is required to
set the world dancing al a Paris opera ball
Even this was often not enough for his
purpose. One memorable night, at a GER
tain moment of the measure, he caused
quantity of chairs to be thrown from a
height behind the scenes and crash; and
the final galop was ushered in and termi-
mated by the rapid firing of guns and pis-
tolls Then. when all was over, the crowd
dragged him from his place and bore him
on their shoulders in a crazy triumph
round the hall. Today they complain that
the music is scarcely loud enough to be
heard. And 1t Ia almost true, such is the
frtghtful racket