As for the men, it is a waistcoat with a cap and
falling collar, if they have a shirt, which is the regulated costume;
breeches are not insisted on; the supreme bon ton would be an
artilleryman's cap, the frock of an hussar, the pantaloon of a lancer,
the boots of a guardsman, in fact the cast-off attire of three or four
regiments, or the wardrobe of a field of battle. The ladies adore the
cavalry, and have a decided taste for the dress of the whole army; but
nothing so much pleases them as mustachios, and a broad red cap adorned
with leather of the same colour.
In this assembly, a beaver hat, unless napless and brimless, would be
very rare; no one ever remembers to have seen a coat there, and should
any one dare to present himself in a great coat, unless _a family man_,
he would be sure to depart skirtless, or only in his waistcoat. In vain
would he ask pardon for those flaps which had offended the eyes of the
noble assembly; too happy would he be if, after having been bandied and
knocked about with the utmost unanimity as a greenhorn, only one skirt
should be left in the hands of these youthful beauties, who, in the
fervour of gaiety, rather roar out than sing.
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