“Do not, I beg of you,” says Madame, blushing. “I am scrupulously
opposed to profanity.” And then there breaks upon the ear music that
seems floating from an enchanted chamber, so soft and dulcet does it
mingle with the coarse laughing and coarser wit of the banqueters. At
this feast of flowers may be seen the man high in office, the grave
merchant, the man entrusted with the most important affairs of the
commonwealth-the sage and the charlatan. Sallow-faced and painted
women, more undressed than dressed, sit beside them, hale companions.
Respectable society regards the Judge a fine old gentleman; respectable
society embraces Mr. Soloman, notwithstanding he carries on a business,
as we shall show, that brings misery upon hundreds. Twice has he
received a large vote as candidate for the General Assembly.
A little removed from the old Judge (excellent man) sits Anna Bonard,
like a jewel among stones less brilliant, George Mullholland on her
left. Her countenance wears an expression of gentleness, sweet and
touching. Her silky black hair rolls in wavy folds down her voluptuous
shoulders, a fresh carnatic flush suffuses her cheeks, her great black
eyes, so beautifully arched with heavy lashes, flash incessantly, and
to her bewitching charms is added a pensive smile that now lights up
her features, then subsides into melancholy.
“What think you of my statuary?” inquired the old hostess, “and my
antiques? Have I not taste enough for a princess?” How soft the carpet,
how rich its colors! Those marble mantel-pieces, sculptured in female
figures, how massive! How elegantly they set off each end of the hall,
as we shall call this room; and how sturdily they bear up statuettes,
delicately executed in alabaster and Parian, of Byron, Goethe,
Napoleon, and Charlemagne-two on each. And there, standing between two
Gothic windows on the front of the hall, is an antique side-table, of
curious design. The windows are draped with curtains of rich purple
satin, with embroidered cornice skirts and heavy tassels. On this
antique table, and between the undulating curtains, is a marble statue
of a female in a reclining posture, her right hand supporting her head,
her dishevelled hair flowing down her shoulder. The features are soft,
calm, and almost grand. It is simplicity sleeping, Madame Flamingo
says. On the opposite side of the hall are pedestals of black walnut,
with mouldings in gilt, on which stand busts of Washington and
Lafayette, as if they were unwilling spectators of the revelry. A
venerable recline, that may have had a place in the propyl‘a, or served
to decorate the halls of Versailles in the days of Napoleon, has here a
place beneath the portrait of Jefferson. This humble tribute the old
hostess says she pays to democracy. And at each end of the hall are
double alcoves, over the arches of which are great spread eagles,
holding in their beaks the points of massive maroon-colored drapery
that falls over the sides, forming brilliant depressions. In these
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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