A LADY'S LETTER FROM PARIS. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Paris, March 15.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2225, 18 June 1879, Page 2

A LADY'S LETTER FROM PARIS. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Paris, March 15.

Lent is passing over quietly ; tbe severe winter undoubtedly could not have depressed spirits more than it hats done, and hence, ono trial more is less felt ; that Lenten torture — not fasting or compulsory penitence, bat chamber concerts, has not been so general, and the borings for purchasing tickets consequently diminished. I have not been able to visit M. Layson's church since its open* ing, but a lady friend informs me it is well attended, and is taken np by the fair sex, who arc introducing the system of English parochial visiting. M. Layson expects to open other churches before the clow of the year in Lyons, Marseilles, Bordeaux, and Lille. This does not look like failure. He seems to hare plenty of friends ; he nearly lost his eldest child a few days ago from croup. The i sisters of Charity in several rural districts of France act as apothecaries, in compounding prescriptions ; the republicans find this faTbe as illegal as carrying arms without permission. A resolution in one instance declared that the religiemaet did less harm than the medical practitioners. Another blow at the sisters; they will not be allowed to teach in the publio reboots unless they have a certificate of competency, and pending the production of such, salary shall be suspended. Persons intending ft* honor Paris with a visit this year will be glad to learn that prices ■ are now one half lew . Hotel-keepers grumble, and state that they are losing all their gains from the Exhibition, by having to keep open empty houses<during U*e wintfr. Life*

the monster hotels in Switzerland, reported to be .ill gigantic loses, but still managing to exist. There ia nothing markedly noteworthy in the dramatic or musical world. The theatres rely for support on the re* ivals of excellent pieces, and new comic operas — why are all like comic operas. The Sunday concerts afford the richest treats ; the bill of fare is ever first class, and the crowd-, are numerous. Next year tho Hyppodromc will organise its "festivals" as an institution; but the programme must bo varied, and greater selections made from the German composers. Tho establishment is ver^ remote from the centre of Paris, and henc e, a drawback. Not a word about the Lottery ; not more than one half of the prizes liave been claimed, and the rest have been or> rtcd off to ware-rooms to be stored, preparrtory to be sold. The revised and final list of the ' unclaimed prizes will shortly be published — the Palace of Industry is required for the An- j nual Picture Show, in addition to the yearly i Hippie Exhibition. From the month of July a scientific International Fair will open there. It has been decided that the whole of the .Champa de Mara buildings shall be demolished, and not a single protest io raised. A stranger present for the first time at a reception of the French Academy, would be inclined to conclude from the predominance of the fair sex, that ladies in this country" were veritable blue stockings — no such tiling. Ladies attend these meetings merely to fee and display their toilettes, and perhaps gain the pleasure of hearing an excellent anecdote related in the best style These remarks apply a* much to all receptions as to M. Itenan's, There was a great desire to be present, and so a rush for tickets, where the few only succeeded. It ever rains on a gala day at the Academy, and to obtain a front seat, the invited must not only arrive when the door? are opened — two hours before the ceremony commences, but a good hour earlier. Those who have valets or maids of all work send them to take up a position, master or mistress replacing them subsequently. Goody people anticipated that the Institute would be struck with lightning, or the earth open and •wallow up the audience, in consequence of making the famous Biblical critic an immortal ; but all went as merry as a marriage bell. Kenan suffered from nothing but the gout, and did not utter a word, necessitating even the most pious tabby to groan in spirit. He told so me st* ries, and assured his hen /ers that his views might just be as wrong as theirtf right, as if any spectator had passed a score of years reading up Arabian m. nuscripts Jand deciphering monuments in the Holy Land, in addition to peeping into lons of Latin written by the Fathers. His poor sister — Henrietta — that was his associate in these studies, sunk under the task, as well she might ; and sinco her death, Kenan's own daughter acts as secretary for her pnpa. He is not at all a wicked looking man, despite his theological naughtiness. He suffers from rheumati&m ashe says, like St. Paul, but otherwise has the air of a jolly priest, ionil of old port and snuff ; not discontented m ith this world, and assuming matters will not be so terrible for him in the next as his enei ties prophecy. The " talkee, talkee" business was too lout;. The best dressed lady was Mme. Henri Houssage, a native of California, and wife of a husband who maintains the world will never be right till we return to the days of Plato and Phidias. Mmc de Moltke, wife of the Danish Ambassador, will not be pleased to learn that elegantes only classed her toilette second, and she is one of the coterie that sometimes gives lawj to fashion. The preparations for Easter are spoiled a little by the rigorous weather, ■\\ Inch is tantalizing — bronchitic, and rheumatic. A friend is to-day as gay as a lr.rk; to-morrow she will have the mumps, and band of flannel round the head, all the result of a change of zephrys, and neglecting to study the newspaper weather maps, to remain on guard. The shops teem with eggs, that surprise the most advanced ornithologists. The real ones are vei y good and cheap, what was never, it is boasted, seen niider any previous form of Government. Those in chocolate, sugar, cardboard, and wool are not le?a plentiful ; the prices are only different. I have heard some of these toys containing the furniture of a walking and talking doll's bed room ; indeed, they can be made receptacles for the most outlandish objects, up to a case of patent medicine? for example. Not the least curious feature about this cla<=s of merchandise is, the rapidity with -which it is disposed of. Old goods arc never to b^ encountered ; the provinces and foreigners exist to obviate that calamity. It is carrying hatching too far, to represent young ducks in plush, occupying a cradle. Nothing can be more incongruous, save a wolf under bed-clothes, as iv Little Red Biding Hood. Other remark, chidren do not appear to enter into the spirit of the toy -fishes for the first of April, nor the eggs at the present time. Perhaps " realism" is the causo. Palm Sunday is the favorite, and perhaps, for thousands the only occasion throughout the year wh^n sei*vant girls go to church : they attend apparently to renew their bunch of box, which being cheaper, is the substitute for palm. The "help" classes in France think no more about religion than the Grand Lama of the Athenasian Creed ; yet they consider it a bounden duty to have the bit of box hung at the head of their beds. This plant x is sold outside the churches by improvised dealers ; the purchaser is presumed to enter the sacred building, and have it blessed while passing before the clergyman. Many take the benediction on chance, and others who do not go to tho altar accept it as done. It is a trying position for young women, for, naturally anxious to obtain a husband, they are aware likely young men, since seven or eight years, look on religious tendencies as a qualification for matrimony. Politics lias unhappily created a fearful abyss between the clei^y and " the people"— any resident in Pans can observe this. Formerly a priest was saluted in the church, but never row. Good Friday was unusually Bad ; the weather was gloomy as suited the occasion. People ■lessed in deep mourning, mr.de pilgrimages to the chief churches, to listen to the Sept Paroles, and look at the sepulchre, " where our Saviour lay," a kind of s>ide chapol of flowers and shrubs, with the waxed body of the crucified. The faithful ought to defilo behind the altar, and kiss the relics each parish church prides itself on possessing. At Notre Dame "an authentic throw from the real crown" ia exposed inashrino : clsewheio portions of the "ttue" cross. The altars are stripped of their ornaments for the threo days, and the bells are silcat — said to iitve left for Rome. A Christian who has made nil tho rounds on a Good Friday can honestly say, ' ' I have not lost a day." Easter Sunday is generally employed by boating up the suburbs for summer quarters, or attending races, wind and weather permitting to t'how oft' new toilettes. Now ladies dislike M .rch dust as much as April showers, and do not wish to sacrifice a bonnet or a dress, 11 aero it can never be admired; for a lady's toilette is intended to impress tho public, after creating a pleasure among friends. Iv the w<y of religious observances during Lent, the Upper Ten are as exclusive as Hidalgos ; they :>ray only in convents, where possibly they have been educated ; they are certain to meet in such retreats, friends of their youth, who have come from distant parts to pass forty days in privacy, piety and chat. This i.s the favorable moment when tho giving in 'narriage takes place, and young couples are mar"*r?l*d in the abstract, before being presented to each othev. I have been told an anecdote OX one of the churches in the Faubourg St. Germain. The portico was erected during the Revolution, and ornamented with enpids and doves, to tipify love and peace tow ard-s nations . These ornamentations now do duty as Cherubim aud Holy Ghost.