In
fact, why not sign the wedding contract on the Place du Carrousel? This
was the outcome of the new code of manners, said Mme Chantereau. In old
times these solemnities took place in the bosom of the family, but today
one must have a mob of people; the whole street must be allowed to enter
quite freely, and there must be a great crush, or else the evening seems
a chilly affair. People now advertised their luxury and introduced
the mere foam on the wave of Parisian society into their houses, and
accordingly it was only too natural if illicit proceedings such as they
had been discussing afterward polluted the hearth. The ladies complained
that they could not recognize more than fifty people. Where did all
this crowd spring from? Young girls with low necks were making a great
display of their shoulders. A woman had a golden dagger stuck in her
chignon, while a bodice thickly embroidered with jet beads clothed her
in what looked like a coat of mail. People's eyes kept following another
lady smilingly, so singularly marked were her clinging skirts. All the
luxuriant splendor of the departing winter was there--the overtolerant
world of pleasure, the scratch gathering a hostess can get together
after a first introduction, the sort of society, in fact, in which
great names and great shames jostle together in the same fierce quest of
enjoyment.
Pages:
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657