WOMAN'S VANITY." It is curious, sir, the vanity of many of these women," whispered our intelligent guide. "Those straw bonnets none of them can bear, and it is as much as ever we can do to make them put them on when they are going to see the doctor. They think they look much better in their caps. One woman, I give you my word, took the ropes off her hammock, and put them round the bottom of her dress, so as to make the skirt seem fuller. Another had filled her gown with coals round the bottom for the same object; and others, again, have taken the wire from round the dinner-cans, and used it as stiffeners to their stays. One actually took the tinfoil from under the buttons, and made it into a ring. You would hardly believe it, perhaps, but I have known women scrape the walls of their cells and use the powder of the whitewash to whiten their complexion. Indeed, there is hardly any trick they would not be at if we did not keep a sharp eye upon them."-The Great World of London.

LOLA MONTES WHIPPED BY A WOMAN.-The Ballarat Times, of March 3, contains an account of a whipping at length administered to this terrible whipper, by one of her own sex. Lola Montes was engaged to perform at the Ballarat Theatre, for Mr. Crosby. She quarrelled with him about accounts, abused him, and was then set on by his wife. Mrs. Crosby broke a whip on her opponent, then seized Madam by the hair-the rest may be imagined. The Ballarat Times says that Lola Montes will not be able to appear for a long time on the stage.

OUR POCKET-BOOK.

"POCKET-BOOK: a small book for the pocket."-Dictionary. THE lady who first said that "a big book is a big bore," ought to have a statue erected to her memory in Paternoster Row. We like "pocket-books." We don't mean small memorandum books with "pockets" in themthough they are useful enough in their way. The pocketbooks we patronise most are little works, full-charged with something instructive and amusing-just such books as those which we received yesterday from Messrs. Groombridge & Sons. We call them our We call them our "pocket-books," because whilst well bound "spruce books" are deposited in our bookcases with as rigid an adherence to order as if they were so many regiments of soldiers, our little friends accompany us in our walks and rides, and they not unfrequently accompany us in our visits. We advise all our friends to adopt the plan of carrying pocket-books. They will beguile many otherwise tedious or anxious moments.

There are thousands of our fair readers whose time is so fully occupied, that they can but rarely indulge in that intellectual luxury-reading. To such our pocket-books would be particularly useful. We shall therefore, each month, devote a portion of our space to describe what our pocket-books are about.

Let us now begin with "HARD WORDS MADE EASY.”— A capital little pocket-book, with plain instructions for the correct pronunciation of a large number of words which are every day tortured, especially by the fair sex, who always prefer soft words to " hard.”

Next we have "LETTER-WRITING SIMPLIFIED FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT USED TO IT." Now this pocketbook is as much superior to the old-fashioned letter-writers as a box of congreve matches is to a tinder box. It is full of sensible remarks, and many of them should be pondered by those who can write letters well.

"COURTENAY'S DICTIONARY OF ABBREVIATIONS" is a pocket-book which nobody should be without. Here for sixpence we have an explanation of between two and three thousand abbreviations. All those mysterious letters on coins, or at the end of persons' names, or on inscriptions, are alphabetically arranged. It is the only DICTIONARY OF ABBREVIATIONS worthy of the name.

Another of our pocket-books is called "MIND YOUR STOPS." The very title is admonitory. There are very many who never know when to stop or how to stop, and, as an Irish friend of ours observes, "the consequence is, they are obliged to begin again without stopping at all." We have known some very serious misunderstandings to result from a disregard to punctuation. We would relate a few amusing anecdotes on the subject, but our space limited; we shall, however, give them in a future number. In the meanwhile we would cordially recommend "MIND YOUR STOPS."

is

A GRADUATED SCALE OF HUSBANDS.-The Paris correspondent of Le Nord, in a recent communication, announced the death of the Count de Bombelles. He died at Versailles in complete obscurity, and his name would soon sink into oblivion were it not for the fact of his having been, after Napoleon Buonaparte, and the Count de Niepperg, the third husband of Maria Louisa.

FROM

OUR FRENCH CORRESPONDENT.

CHERE AMIE,

BOULEVARD DES ITALIENS, July 27th, 1856.

THE recent fêtes and ceremonies in Paris called forth all the talents of the modiste, to unite the elegance of evening dress with the simplicity of morning attire: silks formed the prevailing material-the high bodies closing with buttons of marcasite, malachite, emeralds, rubies, &c. But that being now among the bygones, the preparations are all for travelling; the sea-side or negligé toilettes of country wear, diversified by the numerous out-door fêtes which this season of the year permits, and for which occasions dresses of white taffetas are well adapted, are merely ornamented on the two sides by quilles of black lace, the edges forming vandykes, the pattern forming a bunch of grapes in each point; a similar lace ornaments the body and sleeves, and a half-square of black lace on the shoulders; a paille de riz bonnet with bunches of roses completes this toilette. Also dresses of organdy, with five flounces from the waist, edged by narrow black velvet, accompanied by a mantille of organdy and velvet and double frills of lace, on dresses of pink taffetas, with ruches chichorée placed perpendicularly all round the skirt, diminishing progressively to the waist; mantille of point d'Alençon, and bonnet of pink crape, trimmed with white blond and feather.

Now is the reign of muslins, tarlatanes and organdy white being much in favour; and the real organdy being made of linen instead of cotton, preserves its colour and transparency, and yet has strength to support the embroidery. Dresses of it are with three deep flounces, the heading of each being marked by a pink embroidery in silk, the hem edging the flounce having a ribbon through it; the corsage with revers and rosettes of ribbon. The extinction of flounces was threatened this summer, but we see no symptoms of it as yet; on the contrary, a dress lately seen of silk was with six flounces, the basque of the corsage forming a seventh; the sleeves with frills, and the body with revers bretelles. Some muslin dresses are worn over coloured silks, the bodies high,

VOL. 29.

closing with nœuds of ribbon, and bretelles corresponding in colour; a toilette of white tulle, ornamented with seven flounces, the upper one reaching the waist, has eight rows of very narrow velvet on each flounce; the body pointed before and behind with lace, forming berthe, rounded behind, and descending to the waist in front. Redingotes of clear muslin are ornamented by rosaces of mixed black and white lace, with centre of satin ribbon. Pretty simple dresses, à la Virginie, are worn by young ladies, of white muslin, with short sleeves rather bouffantes, the body half high, and sometimes quite high, with ruche round the throat of tulle. Plain muslins of pink, blue, ruby, or sea-green, are fashionable this season for country negligé dresses; the skirts are open, worn over full-trimmed skirts; they are edged by Valenciennes lace. Another kind, also pretty, is with under-dress of taffetas, and white muslin over, forming open redingote, trimmed with ribbon matching the taffetas, plain body, with nœud and ends of ribbon; the sleeves have sabots of lace and bouillons of ribbon, and wide lace ornaments the top of the body, with ribbon under. A still lighter description is of white muslin, either plain or embroidered; the flounces being lined with coloured tarlatane, which gives a very soft and delicate tint, and has a much lighter effect than when lined with silk.

Walking dresses of popeline are trimmed with quilles, composed of coques of ribbon and narrow fringe.

Mourning is now of much less gloomy appearance than formerly; and the intermixture of bugles on all articles of toilette gives it a brilliancy it never before had. English crape is much used in Paris to ornament the dresses of deep mourning, both in ruches and biais, for which alpaga is also worn with seven gauffered flounces; these flounces are very much approved, and the effect is very good in pink, blue, green, or white crape dresses for balls; they are also used for muslin dresses, the flounce merely hemmed, with high plain body, and basque gauffered, as also the frills that terminate the sleeves, and accompanied by a muslin shawl trimmed with gauffered frills. Casaques or jackets, with pelerine forming shawls, are very fashionable, made in jean, and trimmed with lace. Ladies who adopt the white bodies, prefer them of English jean, on account of its whiteness, and which are embroidered in satin stitch, chain stich, or braid. The Andalusian basquines are much in favour, made of a kind of guipure of black silk, ornamented by gimps expressly in

tended for them, generally of two colours; pink and black, black and mais, and blue and black and chenille is introduced in the fringe which trims the basques; noeuds and brandenbourgs ornament the body. The crinoline skirts are less worn in Paris, being replaced by under skirts with triplefluted flounces, which produce the roundness required at present without the stiffness.

The mantelets écharpes worn at this moment are particularly narrow, but the frills have never been made so deep; some are a yard wide, which, when of lace, has a pretty effect, particularly if the dress is with short sleeves. White mantelets are in much request; the form is very narrow and small, with very deep frills; they are mostly festonnés and ornamented with embroidery corresponding to that of the mantelet; sometimes a large bouillon forms heading to the frills, with ribbon through it, but the newest and most elegant mantelets are of lace; and now that the union of black and white lace is so fashionable, a mantelet has been produced of which the trimmings were of black Chantilly lace on an écharpe mantelet of Brussels point.

Some very elegant mantelets are entirely composed of insertions of black lace separated by frills of Brussels points laid on white tulle; at the edge a much deeper frill fell on a very rich black lace, which it only partially covered. Numerous mantelet scarfs of white taffetas, and small shawls with rounded corners, are ornamented with embroidery or ruches, and are also trimmed with deep frills of black lace. Shawls of black lace are no longer those very large ones covering the dress, but small half squares, with two frills of lace.

According to the taste of the present moment it becomes indispensable to assort the toilette well, the bonnet corresponding with the dress; with one of pink, blue, &c. the bonnet should be the same colour, Leghorns, paille de riz, and paille Panama, being the only ones admissible with any colour, but then they must be trimmed with white or paille. Leghorns are pretty with white feathers and blonde, the interior having small white fruits and foliage.

Pailles de riz, with wreath of grapes, and small bunches inside, with white strings. Wreaths, both of flowers and fruits, are very much used to ornament every kind of bonnet, from the straws to the crape or tulle; those of blue bells, daisies, &c. are placed on the most simple straws; indeed, the wreaths are all mostly of small flowers-roses, carnations, &c. being reserved for detached bunches of flowers: even in mourning, wreaths of black violets and scabious are placed round the front and crown of bonnets.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
PLATE I.

Walking Dress.-Robe of popeline, with flounces ornamented by velvet trimming, tight high body, with basque corresponding with the flounces. Shawl of silk, trimmed with embroidered frill. Bonnet of mauve crape with feathers.

Young Lady's Dress.-Robe of white tarlatane, covered with numerous flounces, and jacket of blue silk, trimmed with velvet guimpe of embroidered muslin.

Child's Dress. Frock, with two flounces of English embroidery, and jacket body ornamented with insertions, the basque and sleeves terminating in square tabs. Leghorn hat with feathers.

Promenade Dress. - Robe of lilac taffetas, with flounces chiné in patterns, high body with basque. Mantelet scarf of black lace. Bonnet of paille de riz, with wreath of flowers terminating at the sides in clusters.

Public Déjeuner Dress.-Robe of grenadine, with jacket body, two deep flounces on the skirt, bordered by three rows of ribbon plissé and heading of the same, the basque and sleeves trimmed to match. Bonnet of black lace, with ornaments of green ribbon and flowers.

PLATE II.

Promenade Dress.-Robe of mauve barège; the skirt is with three flounces in deep scollops, edged and headed by ruches of ribbon, the body with revers, and sleeves of three frills, all edged with ruches. Bonnet of crape and lace, with flowers.

Carriage Dress.-Robe of gray grenadine, spotted with black, high body with revers edged with black lace, the skirt covered by four flounces edged with black lace, as also the frills of the sleeves. Fancy straw bonnet, trimmed with vel. vet and roses.

Morning Dress.-Robe of sea green taffetas, with high body and revers edged by a narrow fringe, a wider one edg ing the flounces of the skirt and frills of the sleeves. Headdress of hair, with cache peigne of ribbon and black lace.

Walking Dress.-Robe of barège, with flounces and jacket body. Mantelet of ruby silk trimmed with black lace. Straw bonnet, ornamented with black velvet and foliage.

Promenade Dress.-Robe of pink checked taffetas with plain skirt, and jacket body trimmed with fringe. Mantelet of blue silk, with deep fringe and heading at the edge, and two rows of narrower fringe above. Bonnet of white silk and lace, with flowers.

PLATE III.

Carriage Dress.-Robe of barège, with three deep flounces trimmed with bands of stamped velvet; jacket body, with revers and frills at the waist, forming fourth flounce to the skirt; sleeves with frills, and under ones of tulle in bouillons, crossed by narrow velvet. Bonnet of paille de riz and taf fetas.

Public Promenade Dress.-Robe of taffetas, ornamented by quilles formed of fringe and bands of velvet; jacket body, fastening up the front with buttons. Mantelet of taffetas, ornamented by scolloped bands of velvet, one edging the deep frill, and three at intervals on the mantelet. Bonnet of crape and lace, with flowers.

Walking Dress.-Robe of taffetas, with flounces in scollops edged by black lace, and graduated rows of velvet; high body, with revers matching the flounces, and frills on the sleeves.

Dinner Dress.-Robe of grenadine, with flounces in scollops edged with fringe, and lozenge of velvet in each scollop; high body, with pelerine revers corresponding with the frills on the sleeves. Head-dress of hair and flowers.

Walking Dress.-Robe of taffetas, the skirt covered with flounces, edged by a galon in scroll; jacket body, the basque and sleeves corresponding in trimming with the flounces. Bonnet of crape, with gauffered ribbon at the edge, and trimming of lace and noeuds of ribbon.

PLATE IV.

Carriage bonnet of straw-coloured satin, trimmed with black blond and purple flowers. The cap inside is ornamented with purple grapes.

Second ditto of white satin and blond, trimmed with white ribbon.

Promenade bonnet of pale green silk, trimmed with bands of velvet, mixed with bows and lace.

Dress cap composed of blond and pink ribbon, garnished with wheat ears.

Second of lace and scarlet satin ribbon, trimmed with white flowers.

Morning cap of tulle, trimmed with narrow blue velvet and blue ribbon.

Second morning cap of black lace and white net, with bows of striped ribbon.

Evening cap of blond, trimmed with cerise ribbon and red

roses.

Berthe of lace and rows of narrow black velvet.