tight, or nearly so below: the satin dresses are usually made en redingotte, which for walking or carriage costume is certainly the prettiest make; a pelerine or mantelet of the same trimmed with black lace, makes it a very elegant dress. I can at present tell you nothing newer than this for toilette de promenade. Ball dresses continue to be made as I described in my last; corsage à pointe, sleeves à double, or à triple subot, with ruffles à la Louis XV. the skirt open in front and looped back with jewels, bows of ribbon, or small bouquets, which always increase in size as they go down: these dresses à l'Antique are made of satin broché, which is certainly a splendid material; and so it ought to be, for the satins are as high as fifty francs a yard. Satin moyen á is another rich material, very much worn, the pattern perfectly á l'Antique, consisting of trees, birds, &c. &c. I have seen some beautiful dresses of a new foulard silk that is exceedingly elegant, the ground is white, and the dessin natural flowers; as bouquets or a running pattern of roses, tulips, &c.: the satin de laine is also much worn in dresses as well as cloaks; it is a rich material, and has the advantage of being very warm: you know it is a tissue of cachemire and silk, and is made couleur sur ouleur, or two colours. Poux de soie, broché in small flowers, or plain, merely glacé de blanc (shot with white) is worn both in morning and evening dress. Silk gauzes embroidered and stamped are pretty for ball dresses; there is a very beautiful satin that has just appeared, it is striped white and rose, white, and blue, white and crimson, white and maroon, &c.; on the white stripe is a small running pattern of flowers exquisitely embroidered in their natural colours, on the coloured stripe the same pattern is repeated in gold or silver. The satin dentelle is another splendid material still very much adopted by our belles. HATS.-The hats are décidément rather larger than they have been worn lately; the crowns are mostly plain, higher than those worn in the winter, and a little higher at the back than at the front; the passe or front of the hats are long at the sides, nearly meeting under the chin, and they are made to stand back off the face as much as possible, in fact they are almost perpendicular. Flowers seem to be as much the rage as they were last summer; the bavolets or curtains at the back are deep and full, and a great deal of ribbon is worn; the fashionable material at present for hats is decidedly satin broché, rose, rose and white, broché in flowers, jonquille, nut, perruche, crimson, maïs, and blue, all with white flowers, or all of a colour: blonde is coming in very much; a deep fall of blonde, forming a demi-voile, adds much to the elegance of the hat. Small blonde caps, with quilled borders that meet under the chin, are very much worn under the hats; some have a small rosette of narrow satin ribbon at one side, and some wear even two, one at each side, or a sprig of small flowers; these are placed over the tufts of curls, but I cannot say I admire them, besides they grow too common in a short time. Hats of paille de riz, they say, will be prevalent at Long Champs; parmi les femmes de bon ton. FLOWERS.-Lilac is the flower at present coming in, but roses and buds, the scabious, china-asters, dahlias, daisies, lily of the valley, forget-me-nots, auriculas, tulips, pensées, violets, pinks, woodbine, acacia, jasmin, and poppies, are all worn. In my next you shall have an account of the nouveautés in lingerie: at present it is too cold for muslin or lace pelerines or canezous. POCKET HANDKERCHIEFS.-Our elegantes at present go to a great expense for this article, they think nothing of giving three hundred francs for a handkerchief, I think myself it is rather high; mais—il faut suivre la mode: the newest I have seen are of the finest cambric, there is no hem; a row of open work goes all round, and to it is sewed a Valenciennes lace about an inch and half in depth, it is put on very full, inside the open work is a guirlande exquisitely embroidered, and inside that again are detached bunches of flowers all round, a small space is left plain between each two bunches: you can have no conception of the beauty of these handkerchiefs. You asked me for JEWELLERY.-We wear diamonds, pearls, and cameos; next to these, or I may almost say in preference to them, we wear first garnet, next coral, and then ruby-jet, is also excessively worn, for black lace is still fashionable, with rose, blue, green, lilac, &c. dresses, and with the black lace, jet goes best. Necklaces are much worn, bracelets entirely out except in the hair, long girandole earrings to match the necklace. For COIFFURES, TURBANS, and CAPS, I must refer you to my last letter, for they have not undergone the slightest change since last month. Brodequins the colour and as much as possible of the material of the dress are worn in preference to shoes. In ball dress, of course, white satin shoes. MITTENS of black lace, long and short; or gloves à jours, open work are still in vogue; the tops of the white kid gloves are ornamented with a quilling or puffing of white satin ribbon. APRONS. --The embroidered aprons are as fashionable as ever, with pockets on the inside, there are some of satin brochés, and dentelle satins, they are generally trimmed all round with a narrow black lace. COLOURS.-The prevailing colours, and those coming in, are emerald green, parrot green, apple green, and vert lumière, a new shade, something of a watery green, lemon, grenat, scabious, pale rose, lilac, (three or four different shades of this colour), violet marron, jonquille, palissandre (bois de palissandre resembles rose-wood, so you may fancy this shade of colour.) pensée, blue, mauve, grey, and black. Orange is on the decline. SALON FOR 1834.-Now ma belle, that I have told you all I could tell you on this subject, d'une si grande importance, a nous autres femmes, I shall give you just une petite idée of our " Salon." Of course you are aware that the exhibition is open, and that at its close on the first of May, another opens. That of les Arts et Metiers; Arts and Trades; four immense buildings are erecting on the Place de la Concorde for this exhibition, which is expected to be on a wonderful scale. But to return to the Salon. The first picture by which you are attracted, and before which you stand rivetted for the first half hour, so fearfully,- -so horribly true is it to nature, is "Lady Jane Grey," by Delaroche. He is a painter of prodigious talent, and already celebrated by his pictures of the young princes, (Edward V. and his Brother), in the Tower of London, and Oliver Cromwell looking into the Coffin of Charles the First. He has well supported his reputation by the present picture. The scene is in the low room of the Tower, in which the unfortunate Lady Jane was beheaded; in the centre of the picture she is seen kneeling on a velvet cushion, her eyes are bandaged, and her arms are extended, she is grasping with her hands the fatal block on which to lay her head: she does not in the least shrink from her fate, still, in every muscle, in the position of her hands and arms may be detected the terror, -the horrible suffering of the moment; she is dressed in a white satin robe, her neck and arms uncovered; the expression of her whole figure is indescribable, it is contracted by agony.-And, Oh! what agony was hers! and still she seems firm and resigned. An aged man is seen leaning over her in the act of taking her hand to place it upon the block; on the lefthand stands the headsman, with the axe in his hand, the expression of his face is beyond description admirable, and one cannot but wonder how, after looking upon her as he did, he could have had the heart to deal the fatal blow! on the right, rather in the back ground, are two of the Lady Jane's attendants, a man weeping and turning from the sight with horror, and a female who has fainted. "The last day of Pompeii," is another good picture, by Bruloff, a Russian artist. It represents the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, as described by Pliny the younger, in the year 72; and the Death of Pliny the elder; the Philosopher is supported in the arms of a group of persons. A flash of lightning that the painter has introduced, evidently for the purpose of bringing out the figures, throws a disagreeable reflection all over the picture, and in a great measure decreases its merit. There are a great many pictures from the novels of Sir Walter Scott, and scenes from Lucrece Borgia, and other dramas. A scene from the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew; the last moments of the Grande Dauphine, the daughter-in-law of Louis XIV. who died in childbed, she has sent for Madame de Maintenon, her children, Louis of France, the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Anjou, afterwards King of Spain, and her Infant Son the Duke de Berri; after having taken leave of her family, she kisses the infant, saying " C'est de bon cœur, quoique tu me coutes la vie." There are many other admirable pictures which I cannot speak of to day, ce sera pour la première fois. There are several excellent portraits, amongst others some by an English artist of the name of Davis, which are very good. There are also some inimitable portraits in pencil, by Hyppolite Masson, these likenesses are admirable, I knew them instantly, this artist particularly excels in children. I intend that he shall do my children for next year. Maintenant ma chère amie en voila assez pour aujourdhui, je t-embrasse bien tendrement. Mon mari est à la campagne. DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. (No. 7.) BALL DRESS-This plate gives an exact model of a very elegant dress, almost universally adopted at the late balls at the French court. The dress is of a new material, called Gaze de Constantinople, embroidered in gold. It is made à l'Antique. The corsage perfectly tight to the bust, is à pointe, and cut on the bias in front; it is ornamented across the bosom with full draperies à la Sévigné, (see plate) the sleeves are à double sabot, with blonde ruffles à la Louis XV. The open skirt, as may be observed in the plate, does not quite meet at the waist, as it is intended that the point of the corsage should be distinctly seen. The dress is ornamented with small rosettes of gauze ribbon, from which depend three or four long coques of the same, (see plate) in the centre of each rosette is a gold ornament or jewel; |