y patent lamps, as by a chandelier in the middle. The
furniture had a resemblance to what I had seen in fashionable houses in
England. The carpet was of red baize with a Turkish border, and figured
in the middle like an harlequin's jacket. The principal novelty was a
blue ribbon which divided the room lengthways, the one side of it being
for the dancers, the other for the card-players. The ribbon was
supported at proper distances by white staves, similar to those of the
court ushers.

The ball had little to distinguish it from the balls of England and
America, except that the ladies danced with infinitely more skill, and
therefore with more grace. The fashionable French dancing is exactly
that of our operas. They are all figurantes, and care not what they
exhibit, so as they exhibit their skill. I could not but figure to
myself the confusion of an English girl, were she even present at a
French assembly. Yet so powerful is habit, that not only did the ladies
seem insensible, but even the gentlemen, such as did not dance, regarded
them with indifference.

Cotillons and waltzes were the only dances of the evening. The waltzes
were danced in couples, twenty or thirty at a time. The measure was
quick, and all the parties seemed animated. I cannot say that I saw any
thing indecorous in the embraces of the ladies and their partners,
except in the mere act itself; but the waltz will never become a current
fashion in England or America.

There is no precedency in a French assembly except amongst the Military.
This is managed with much delicacy. Every group is thrown as much as
possible into a circle. The tables are all circular, and cotillons are
chiefly preferred from having this quality.

I did not join the card-players; there were about half a dozen tables,
and the several parties appeared to play very high. When the game, or a
certain number of games were over, the parties rose from their seats,
and bowing to any whom they saw near them, invited them to succeed them
in their seats. These invitations were sometimes accepted, but more
frequently declined. The division of the drawing-room set apart for the
card-players served rather as a promenade for the company who did not
dance; they here ranged themselves in a line along the ribbon, and
criticised the several dancers. Some of these spectators seemed most
egregious fops. One of them, with the exception of his linen, was
dressed completely in purple silk or satin, and an