You will think, perhaps, that I am drawing an exaggerated picture; but I can assure you, on the honour of a man of truth, that such was the _costume_ of at least two thirds of the ladies present at this ball. The head-dresses, classically imitated from the ancient statues, were elegant; and the number of diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones, strikingly brilliant. There were many handsome women; but their beauty was uniformly of one kind. The _embonpoint_, and the _nez retroussé_, characterised them all. I looked in vain for those graceful figures, and those grecian countenances, which form so often the ornament of an english assembly. Among the most celebrated belles, madame R⸺, the young wife of an affluent banker, was pointed out to me; madame V⸺, an Italian lady, much the fashion at Paris, and the renowned madame Tallien. I think the first rather remarkable, for the singularity of her dress, (her head being ornamented “_à la cochoise_,” that is to say, as the peasants of a particular province dress their hair) her extreme fairness, and downcast look, than for any real extraordinary beauty. Madame V⸺ is a fine dark woman, “_d’une certaine age_,” with beautiful eyes, and a commanding person. Madame Tallien, notwithstanding her great fame, has, according to me, rather an agreeable countenance, and an enchanting smile, than features excessively striking. She is fair, as the fairest of our countrywomen; her neck is beautiful; and her countenance, mild and good humoured, is said to be a true picture of her mind. Yet, in spite of these advantages, I never should have discovered in her, the reigning _belle_ of Paris. She, too, is not in the first bloom of youth. The dances were, the cotillon, (which they call _la contredanse_) and the walse. In the former, the ladies displayed that decided superiority, which the french possess in the art of dancing. As to the walse, I was astonished at the decency, with which that very indecent dance was danced, by the young parisians; who, placing their arms round the uncovered persons of the handsomest women in the room, yet had sufficient command of themselves, not to shock either their partners, or the company, by being guilty of the slightest impropriety. I expressed my surprise to an elderly lady, at this extraordinary forbearance. “_Croyez moi, monsieur_[39],” she replied, “_que nos jeunes gens voient tout cela avec l’indifférence la plus parfaite._” What a lesson does this remark hold out to the fair sex, of every description! That female is not less deficient in coquetry, and in the art of commanding the affections of men, than in every principle of decency, who wantonly exposes to the common gaze of passing curiosity those attractions, which are only valuable, as long as the sight of them is the exclusive privilege of a favoured lover.