PARISIAN GAIETIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 554, 12 July 1862, Page 6

PARISIAN GAIETIES.

The Paib correspondent of t l ie Xrlson Examiner, writing under date of March 2Gi.h, gives the follovvin" 1 lively account of some recent festivities in the gay capital of Fiance: - " In spite of this being Lent, and the gay world heuig thereto re supposfd to be expiating its peccadili'KM in the traditional sacke'oth and ashes, Court an 1 Capital are 'up to their eyes' in gaieties, only &li»ht|y modified in deference to the exigences of the ecclesiastical calendar. Just before Lent set in, fancy balls were civen, a dozen deep. Princess Mathilde gave oue, very splendid, at which only historical costumes were admitted. Count do Morny, emulous of the success of his fair cousin's entertainment, gave a ball a tVw nights afterwards, at which the display of diamonds 'bomethiug piortiglou-5.' Youuj>' Count D^midoff wore a black costume of the date of Louis XIII., literally blazing with diamonds, among which filmed, like an electric spark among rubhlijhls, the famous San"y, glory of tin 1 Deiiudoffean l>o«e-sions in the jewellery lino. This renowned ,s l one was tho smallest of three diamonds, founl by the brave and rejoicing SwiUeVcS, in the treasury of Charles the Bold, after the battle of GraiioOn. It was taken to Lucerne, aud there sold, for 5,1)00 ducats, to a Jew, who took h to Lisbon, where it was purchased by the Court, and put intj the royal Crown of Portugal. It remained iv that crown forneirly "200 yeaia ; when vo \va» carried off by a dethroned kimjof Poitu, r ;al, who came to Paris in 1595, and ended hi days in France as Ptior of Cralo. From the exiled ex-soveivjis'u thii diamond w.as purchased by XieuolaS) ue Unlay, Sire of Sanuy, which metliajvai village now ,£,a\e its name to the stoae ; and from the descendants of the ancient knight it was subsequently bought by the French Government, an I inserted into the Crown of Prance, fio.u which it was stolen during the iir'-t revolution, and was subsequently offered for sale, and purchased by Prince Demidoff. A. M. de Lutroth, of tho diplomatic world, appeared as 'a river.' every part of his person being covered with diamonds, just as thick as thoy could be stuck together. Countess de Perf.i;rny wire ;t splendid co&tume carefully initatmg that of a Chinese Empress, and so on !

c% Not to bo out of the prevailing fashion, the Prince Impe ill aihO give v, h\\\. Tlie rooms wercdnikentid, and lit, up splendidly with tapers, the little guests avrivi ■< at noon and departing an t.vo o'clock. They dane for a short time, Imfc boon went in(,o various play anJ, after enjoying sirne am u>ing conjuring feats .jerfurmel for their delectation, a fomh-jla, in which ever} hoJy got some charming little present, aiid a refection of cream':, fruit, ami other simple daintk-j, they took their leave of their Imperial hosts, and the youiiij ' Hope of Fiance' went quietly to h's afternoon lessons.

■• Since Lent b^an dancing U more moJemtely indulged in, and only priva'ely. No balls are ostensibly given, and private theitri<\ils, displays of coujuring, clairvoyance, tsUe-turnrng, aud forlunetellin^c, .are taking their place.

•• The Pnac(i->sde Beauvais has ju^fc achieved a brilliant success, that will long be remembered own among the .shifting iinpro^ion3 of this kaleidoscope metropolis. The Orphan Asylum of Bs. Auue'rf, for girls, has been icoitig- down hill of late, an. l its exchequer was so nearly empty about three weA.s ago, that tlie lady superintendent of tho establishment waitod on thij priace-s, imploieii her to bestir herself on its behalf, and ilecl ire I that, ualess speedy aid \;ere r ;ivjn, the asylu v unut olovj it? doois in a fortnight. The princess, inne-l by the plevlcr's earnest entrear.iesj .a- sure I her that she wmld ad once rro t.> woWs. 0 1 behalf of the chanty, ' What mm m \v ills. Go 1 wiil^ !' ad led tho princess, <|!ioting the well known French piovoib, ' ond I prc»j>iis>e }ou tlnr 1 will set your .asylum Dscuniarily at ca 3 e with the leas'u possible del iy.'

v In pursuance of thh laudable deler:ni:i.ition, the princes ro-jo'vel to give a theatric d ent^ilai'i nont, followed by a supper, the tickets to both play and supper to bo purchasable 01113 afc biioh exorbitant niii'"s as only people uith money to thro iv away would b*; snppojsd ti ho willing to pay — tlie cunning pi'incesj knowing that every ermi'ire who o;ircJ for the reputation of the veiy hi Jic^fc lon would make it a, piint oc honor to hi ->een at a reunion jf to cooMy a oli.it i^ter. A." her ov.-u rcceytJon rwius are Mnftll, f-he went off at unoe to the wife of tho s;reit banlit-r, B ...roncoS ds JLiyoadonf, who->c hotel iv the u^ly, noi--y, dirty, vulgar Rne de Ca leb. h one of tin; luyest aul mo^t splendid in P.iiis,, aiul j?ot the baroness to leu.l her luv the occ won t lie vast aud in r^'uticout saloon called tlie i-'-'ha dii, iV<;/(tli3 Nave Sa!:o:i), from its being buik like the interior of a dihedral, with pillars down the si.lei. groined ceiling, stained g'ass windows, and so forth. This immense room occupies nearly oil the drawing-room llwrot the hotel, and communicates, by a little spirjl Cf.>thic staircase, with another room of si'uilar dimensions ou another story, which serves a? a sunper room. The Nave kir.loon \va=. Intod u;> a-A a theatre ; Dumpt.' ' L'Houueni- est Sauvee,' Oocave Feuilles's 'Barbier Heroine,' and a little one acb trifle of George baud's, wc:e selected fjr tho lepre.seiuitiun : Prince Poniatowski was invite 1 to lenl the orchestra, and the Princess, pacing in her own mind a review of the beaux and belles of the capital, selected tli3 very handsomest .and grandest ot the latter as acli esses, and, as actors, men of the highest fashion, making the^e ypntleinen pay 500 francs each for tlie honor thus conferred on them.

" Tlie a i'le de spectacle \v;i s > fitted up iv the most elegant btyle, the footlights hidden by masses of flowers, rows of blue fanteuiß einbroidersri with gold, filling the hall, and the gallery bein» fitted up in bimilar atyl^ All the feats, were occupied by ladies — thu>e in the hall paying "J5 frouc^, tho^c in the R.illcry paying 15 francs. As for the gentlemen, they ! made themselves small,' as the French sayiu'jj is, and stood where they could, payinsr 25 francs each for tho piivilege of standing or sitting on the steps of the spiral staircase. The affair went off capitally— the plays were voted ddicicu r, and the suppa..-, at 20 francs a head, ditti; and such was the vchemauco of the debire ot the c, r .iy world to be able to bo:ut, of having been present, that the entertainment wa 1 ; repeated on tho followiug Tuesday aad Friday, the hall being cramrne.l each time. The receipts loft a clear profit of 22,000 franco. The indefati^ible Princess next induced the Duke de Luynes to lend his noble saloons for a bazaar, at which the fair actresses appeared as saleswomen, and cleared 15,000 francs. St.. Anne's Orphan Abyhnn is, therefore, once more in a flourishing con lition, and the Princess has achieved the reputation of being one of the most spirited aud successful ' patronesses ' extant."