At a fancy-dress ball the costume which is merely original and not pretty should be condemned except when the novelty prize is the desideratum of the occasion. There have been some remarkable costumes designed, which have proclaimed every scientific invention, and others which have illustrated topical scenes and current events, involving much special preparation and printing, and invariably presenting some difficulty when the great question of head-dress had to be answered becomingly. It is not easy to convey a Marconi system as a hat, nor can it be considered a simple task to invest a coiffure elegantly with the best principles of an air-ship, even though the ladies of long ago saw fit to crown themselves with the last cry in Armadas. It is on record that the audacious actor, Samuel Foote, distinguished himself by appearing at a masquerade in an abnormally exaggerated caricature of this fashion--a policy which led more directly to the discomfiture of Samuel Foote than to any serious contempt for the fashions he held up to ridicule. [Illustration: THE SEVILLE ORANGE.] [Illustration: A BOTTICELLI DANCING-DRESS.] An easy and popular manner of solving the problem of what to wear is to reproduce the dress which is being worn by the heroine of some very favoured play. Véronique, in her pale-green silk and white muslin draperies, was a recent opportunity much adopted, and for years no fancy-dress ball was complete without at least three Kate Hardcastles, while Juliets were to be found in every doorway, and a dancing Faust would lack no choice of Margarets. The Calico ball proclaims itself pre-eminently thrifty in its intention, and remarkably pretty effects may be obtained with cotton fabrics, if sufficient intelligence be used in the design of the dresses. To achieve the effect of an "old print," white crêpe cotton and pale blue sateen, with a straw bonnet banded with the blue and a pink rose beneath, may be recommended as useful ingredients. The "Marcus Stone" girl, as we familiarly call a maiden clad in white muslin with a frilled fichu, is another heroine whose frock lends itself readily to cheap material, and we have always at our disposal the ever-popular red, white, and blue flag, yet bunting is not the most comfortable of fabrics for the enthusiastic dancer. The embodiment of the Seasons, although considerably hackneyed, may safely be accomplished with cottons and muslins and swansdown, leaves, and flowers; and a very effective dress is the Rainbow, in which rainbow crêpe of Japanese manufacture is an ideal assistant.