THE JAPANESE BALL IN NEW YORK. (From the Boston Atlas.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1350, 16 November 1860, Page 6

THE JAPANESE BALL IN NEW YORK. (From the Boston Atlas.)

Now York has performed its utmost to the Jam.neie embassy. It hai given its "grand ball, and H we are to believe not alone whole columnt, but pages of 4he journal* of that city, it was unparalleled. It took place at Niblo's garden, which was transformed into a sort of oriental palace for the occasion. Everything was rsgal, showy, costly ; everything in the way of decoration was had. Flowers, birdi, music, the Graces, poetry, art, everything contributed to the brilliancy of the occasion. The " New Yoik Herald has the following in relation to the chief saloon : — "The glory of the evening culminated in the grand dancing hall, where tho votaries said disciples of Terpsichore assembled in number* numberless. Thecostumei of the guests were of the most brilliant and dazzling kind, rivalling the hues of the rainbow and the humming bird, and exceeding in extent anything of the kind which has yet been seen in our far-famed city of sensations. Gaiety aud animation everywhere prevailed. Joy and gladness beamed on every face; every heart seemed buoyant, and an exuberance of joy and animation appeared on every side. The brilliancy of the scene was surpassingly grand. Orientals though they are, accustomed to splendours that outstrip the pace of ■ober reality and find a realisation only in romance, the Japanese princes were thrown off their mental equilibrium, and for some time believed that they were wandering among the Ely3ian fields of the east, and the roses which bloomed and the bulbuls that sung were th« denizens of their own warm and sunny clime. Beauty, ■plendour, and magnificence shone down upon them with beams as radiant as those of the God of Day himself. Such a brilliant and glowing scene has seldom been seen in tbii western hemisphere." The decorations are thus sketched :— "The arrangements for the decoration of the ball-room were, on the whole, of the most successful description. Never in any eastern land were more elegancies and beauties concentrated into one evening's entertainment than wai done in the far-off western country last evening. The decorations of the ball-room were unrivalled in the history of the city. A native of Constantinople, suddenly transferred into the labyrinthine intricacies oi Niblo's garden, in the full blaze of an illumination, bursting forth from fountains of gas and oil, would hare believed himself stall tarrying in some gorgeous palace on the banks of the Bosphorus. It is hard indeed for the imagination to conceive, as it was for the eye to take in, the whole of the magnificence at a glance. The " Midsummer Night's Dream" of the immortal Shak■peare must have been conceived under the delirium of a dream whose beauties only found a living reality in the splendour of last night. Skill, patience, activity, and enterprise united, produced a more perfect truth than the wildest thoughts of romancers or of poets ever could bring into life. The flags and banners, the wreaths and flowers, the merry laugh of girlhood, and the hilarity which everywhere prevailed, spoke more of eastern climes than of the staid frigidity of northern men. Nothing was wanted but the presence of the oriental ambassadors, in their peculiar costume, with their shaven crowns and silken garments, to carry one's memory back to the gardens of the east, on the trees of which rubies and emeralds sparkled, and where the sun himeelf was outshone in glory and noontide brightness. Tho fabled beauty of Aladdin's palace was as nothing to the icene presented at Nibol's garden, in the very centre of New York, last night. It was such a scene as would have saved the head of Scheherezade from the executioner's block, if but properly and faithfully portrayed." From 3,000 to 4,000 persons were present. It was an immense jam. The ladies were dressed "to kill," and came very near accomplishing their object by suffocatiug short people in the crowd :—: — " The principal feature of the evening — which attracted the attention of the orientals and drew forth audible sighs and ejaculations from lovesick swains — was the gorgeous finery with which the ladies were clad. Such delicate feet, encased in such tiny shoes ; such slender waists and voluptuous busts, covered with a profusion of flaxen, golden, auburn, and ebon hair. If the scene was grand when the empty ball-room Lay open to the sight, decorated with all the taste we have attempted to describe, how greatly enhanced was the coup d'wil when the brilliant company began to arrive. As throng after throng of lovely women swept into the saloons., with all the majesty of health, beauty, wealth, and happiness, it ■eemed as if the houris and peris of the east Lad met together to hold a midnight revel and to celebrate their highest holiday." There were twelve dances made up of the ordinary ball-room programme. In relation to the Japanese, the " Herald" remarks • — " On their entrance, the beautiful and touching tune of 'Kathleen Mavourneen 1 was struck up by the band, and appeared to be highly appreciated by the distinguished guests. On entering the principal ball-room, chaperoned by the members of the naval commission, they were conducted through the throng of guests, who opened right and left, leaving a lane for them to pass through to the pavilion, which had been prepared for their exclusive accommodation at the north of the building, on the stage of the theatre. The interest at this juncture was intense. The guests spontaneously rose, while the cry ran round the immense building of ' The Japanese.' Every eye was strained, and every one present stood on tip-toe to see the members of the unique corps diplomatique The interest in 'Tommy' was particularly intense. All wished to see him in particular as the lion of the embassy. On his appearance — not, by the way, in American costume, which he has lately assumed, but in the clothing of his native country — he was greeted with the usual notes of admiration, and broadcloth and crinoline united in heralding the advent of the Japanese Adonis.'. The Japanese retired about ten o'clock, but the company remained nearly all night. What between supper and music, wine and women, the dance and decorations, and the lively and brilliant state of things in general, the ball passed off with much success. O