An Index or Key to the Service of the Church of England. Published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Those who have not forgotten their childish troubles will remember their real perplexities in finding out the proper order of our really intricate ritual. Captain Derenzy's "Index" ought at least to be bound up in the Prayer-book of every child that attends the service of the Church of England. It would likewise be of great use to strangers and foreigners.

Aurungzebe; or, a Tale of Alraschid. In

3 vols.

Notwithstanding numerous faults, the author of "Aurungzebe" succeeds at times in delighting his readers. Considerable imaginative powers are shewn in the story, particularly in the narrative, and description of lively action. He is excelled by few of the most skilful ro. mance writers. He is not amiss in the development of character: his portrait of Aurungzebe, for instance, is a fine historical likeness; but he is strangely deficient in judgment and arrangement, for whilst he is enchanting his reader during the progress of a scene, he brings

the issue to a most awkward and unsatis

factory conclusion. This fault arises from inattention, and the absence of ordinary industry, not from the lack of genius. But he is elsewhere faulty; for the moment he makes his personages enter into dialogue, they can indulge only in conversation at once stupid and tiresome. Dialogue is, indeed, a fatal rock on which he suffers utter shipwreck; and if he desire complete success, he must steer clear of such hazards in his future voyages. The dialogues between Buccas and Ramjohnny are intolerable— interminably long, and unreadable in quality. The character of Buccas is too forced to be natural, and his actions too pantomimic to be pleasing or attractive to the acute observer. Yet, with all these defects," Aurungzebe" is no common composition. It is true to history; and, in the most minute details of oriental manners and customs, the author has closely followed, particularly in his description of the court and camp of Aurungzebe, the graphic records of Bannin, the talented French physician of the mighty Emperor, who has left us a sprightly and authentic memoir of a re. sidence at Agra. This information may be interesting to our readers, that Aurungzebe died on the Mogul throne, after having seen his hundredth year.

COSTUME OF PARIS.

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PARIS, JANUARY 26, 1834. Selon ma promesse, I hasten, my dear Clorinde, to give you an account of one of the most splendid spectacles I ever witnessed, the last bal costumé. But I must begin by telling you how near I was being disappointed. M. de F- was not well worse still-he was de mauvaise humeur ! and would not hear of my going. However, my mind was made up, and, about twelve o'clock, when he thought I was sound asleep, I got up, dressed, ordered my carriage, and drove to some friends that I knew were going, and accompanied them to the scene of enchantment. ma chère, you can have no conception of the splendour, of the variety of the costumes, of the magnificence of some, of the singularity of others. I would not have lost it for I know not what! I know very well that you, who are so prudent, and have acquired so many punctilious English ideas of decorum, will lecture me on what you

Oh!

will call my having deceived my husband; but, tell me, does not every Parisienne do the same? I mentioned it to all my friends at the ball, and they approved highly of it, and said they would have acted in the same manner; and I know for certain there were many there who did so. No Frenchwoman, believe me, gives up to her husband in such things, especially if she happens to be un petit peu coquette comme toi et moi! Besides, I told him next morning, and he stormed and raved for half an hour, and then forgot it altogether; indeed, if he had not, I should have had an attaque de nerfs, and terrified him into a fit of the gout. Now for the ball. Picture to yourself the immense Salle, almost lined with lookingglass, thousands of lustres rendering the scene more brilliant than day; the boxes and galleries decorated with festoons of gold and silver gauze, and all the avenues transformed into groves of odoriferous plants and shrubs. At one end of the room was an immense orchestra, consist

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ing of upwards of thirty musicians, dressed in complete suits of armour, mounted on horses richly caparisoned, and performing symphonies on wind instruments made after ancient models. After the overture of William Tell," four Spaniards, the first male and female dancers from the theatre at Madrid, entered, and, dressed in the costume of their country, executed several national dances-the bolero, the zapateado, &c., &c. I cannot possibly give you an idea how beautiful it was. I shall certainly try and induce M. de F- to take me to Spain, where I shall see them in still greater perfection. The women wore over their chemisettes, which had loose sleeves tied in with ribands, small corsages laced in front, blue and scarlet short petticoats, and round their waists gauze scarfs tied in front: these they took off towards the end of the dance, and each having flung her's gracefully over her lover, led him away captive. Then followed an exact representation of French costumes, from the commencement of monarchy to the close of the year 1833. Each group, forming an age, or epoch rather, danced a quadrille. As they entered they were announced by a flourish of trumpets, and preceded by a herald attired in the military accoutrements of the period to which his party belonged; he carried a banner, on which was inscribed the epoch represented. The persons represented, belonging to every epoch, were the nobles or lord and lady of the manor, two persons of the bourgeois or citizen class, and two of the peasantry; then we had knights of the age of chivalry and romance, fully equipped and ready to break a lance with any who disputed the colour of their mistresses' eyebrow; minstrels who could a "tale of love" pour forth, and "send their hearers weeping to their beds;" warriors in armour, with sword, and helmet, and shield, and buckler; fair chatelaines, attended by their youthful pages. We had the velvets and brocades, the plumes and diamonds, of the gay court of the gallant Francois I.; the ruffles and laces of Louis XIII.; the long-trained robes of the seventeenth century; the elegant costume worn under the Regency; the splendour and eclat of the reign of Louis XV.; the ponderous wigs, the cues, and clubs, the extravagances of 1792 and 1794; the costume under the consulate, under the empire; en fin, every change to the last revival of ancient modes in 1833.

You ask me to give you a description of the newest walking dresses. Do you know, ma belle, that the task is a difficult one? I do not think we have had more than three fine days during the last two months. The weather is excessively mild for the season, but wet beyond any thing ever remembered in Paris; and you know our belles never walk but in fine weather. If you are

desirous of knowing what is worn in morning visiting costume I can tell you.

BLACK VELVET HIGH DRESSES, à corsage plat, are amongst the most distingué. Satin broché, satin moyen ágé, satin Anglais, and printed satins in dark colours, and by no means as rich as those worn in grande-toilette, are also very fashionable. Pékins, poux de soie, cachemires, foulards d'Afrique, and des Indes, and a new material called Tudorienne, after M. Victor Hugo's new piece, Marie Tudor. This is a tissue composed of silk and cachemire worsted, so exquisitely wrought that it combines the gloss and brilliancy of the richest satin, with the softness and pliancy of the finest cachemire: it is made in all colours, plain and figured. For all, except ball-dresses, the most general make is en redingotte, high redingottes for morning, low for dinner, opera, or simple evening dress. For the former, the corsages are invariably tight to the bust; the sleeves, still very full at top, and nearly tight below: these dresses are mostly worn without a collerette or collar. A very short white lace scarf, beautifully embroidered, is simply tied round the throat; the ends sometimes reach to the waist, but never below. You will, perhaps, say, this is a very light dress for January; but let me be understood. If you walk out, or go in your carriage, you wear a cloak well lined and wadded, which you throw off on entering a hot room; at least we do so à Paris; and I think if the plan were adopted aux bords de la Tamise, it would be found a preservative against "colds."

The dinner and evening REDINGOTTES are, as I have said, in general made low. Some, however, are nearly high, leaving merely the throat exposed. The following is a description of a very elegant one that I have got. It is made of plain black tulle, lined with rose coloured satin. The corsage has a little fulness at the back; the fronts are very full, in five deep folds, slanting from the shoulder to the centre of the front of the waist. Long sleeves à double sabot: the top puff excessively large and full, the lower one small, and immediately above the elbow. From the elbow to the wrist, the sleeve as tight as possible, and finished at the wrist by two rows of very narrow black lace. The corsage is finished at the neck by a small, square falling collar, of the material of the dress. The skirt, excessively full, has a double row of quilled satin riband down each side of the front. These rows meet on the waist, and are about a third of a yard apart at the bottom of the skirt. Between them, exactly down the centre, are five bows of gauze riband, going down gradually larger and larger. These, with the quilling of satin riband, give the dress the appearance

of being open in front, and brought together by the bows. A double row of the same quilling goes round the collar, and down the front of the corsage. The hat to be worn with this dress is of rose crape, made transparent as it is for evening. The front is très evasée, rounded off and very short at the ears.

The culotte, rounded at top, is in folds, that finish under a bow of gauze riband, with long ends placed at the lower part of the calotte (crown), towards the back at the left side. The garniture consists of two feathers, one placed standing up in the centre of the front of the hat, the other placed beneath the passe (or front): it is put in at the front, close to the forehead, and, inclining towards the right, it curls over the edge of the passe, and finishes outside. Four puffs of gauze riband hide the stem of the feather underneath, and give a becoming finish to the hat.

VELVET HATS, trimmed with rich satin ribands, and with two or three ostrich feathers, are more worn than any others; the colours preferred are black and orange, black and green, black and blue, and black and rose. Hats of satin dentelle, a satin that has the appearance of blonde lace over satin, are très recherchés. The forms have undergone no change since last month; nor will there be any great variety now until LongChamps.

EVENING COIFFURES.-There is no fixed style of coiffure adopted at present for the hair. Some wear immense tufts of curls at the sides of the head à la Sévigné and à la Grignon; others, the flowing ringlets of Ninon de l'Enclos. Some have adopted the coiffure of Marion Delorme; while others again, prefer the bonnet à la Marie Stuart, or the elegant chapeau à la Dubarry. Those who wish to be very simple, wear turbans of mixed gauzes, brown and orange, brown and scarlet, brown and rose, brown and blue. These turbans (by no means formal) are merely twisted on the head by a coiffure. Six or eight "argus" feathers are placed with much taste and elegance towards the right side of the front of the turban. It is to match these feathers that one of the colours should be brown.

The prettiest style of coiffure for demoiselles is a braid en couronne on the top of the head, rather far back. The front hair in full tufts of curls, very much parted on the forehead in ringlets, or in two braids en fer à cheval, coming down at each side of the face, and turned up again and fastened beneath the couronne. An arrow, richly ornamented, and a small gold chain crossing the brow, are pretty additions. These, or a wreath of flowers round the head, or one or two detached bouquets of roses, half blown, and buds, or small mixed flowers, are the only ornaments worn by young ladies. The hair in the morning is dressed as simply as

possible; the back hair braided at the top of the head, the front generally in one single long thick ringlet at each side of the face. Those who do not consider this becoming, wear full tufts of curls or bandeaux lisses,

FLOWERS.-Flowers are still much worn. Those in favour are roses, china-asters, dahlias, auriculas, marigolds, and dark fancy flowers. Some are made in velvet, and answer extremely well for velvet hats. For evening, guirlandes and bouquets of small mixed flowers, or of rosebuds, are fashionable and a wreath of oak leaves with gold acorns has the prettiest effect possible in dark hair. Feathers, birds of Paradise, and esprits are also much worn.

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NECKLACES AND EARRINGS of jet are more recherché than any others. The next in estimation are ruby, coral, and garnet.

GLOVES.-Black silk gloves and mittens à jours in rich lace-patterns, long and short, have quite superseded kid gloves, either in ball dress or dinner costume.

There is nothing whatever new in lingerie.

MANTELETS AND PELERINES.-There are some new pelerines and mantelets made of rich satin, black, orange, violet, or grenat, lined with a different colour satin; they are very large, thickly wadded, and piqué (quilted); the mantelets are trimmed with black lace, and the pelerines with swansdown, white or dyed, blue or rose. They are in general made with capuchons (hoods), and are the most useful things possible to put on on leaving a hot room or theatre; they are so very light, that they cannot possibly injure a dress: and with the capuchon drawn over the head, one has veritablement l'air d'un petit chaperon rouge.

COLOURS.-The colour of all others most in vogue is black; next orange, ruby, crimson, emerald and apple greens, moss green, chocolate, chestnut, nut brown, dahlia, violet, dark lilac, lie de vin, cherry, rose, blue Haïti, and sky blue.

Now, ma toute aimable, as you say your great balls have not yet commenced in London, I shall reserve ball dresses for another letter. Still, should you, en attendant, go to a ball perchance, your robe must have a corsage en pointe, sleeves à double sabot, with ruffles à la Louis XV., and the skirt of the dress must be open in front, and looped back at distances with diamonds, jet ornaments, flowers, or bows of riband, consisting of two coques, with a cameo in the centre. Your ceinture must be of the broadest gauze riband, with long silk tassels at the ends---bien entendu, tied in front. And your coiffure must be à l'antique.

I shall now close my depêche, wishing you every amusement the approaching season can afford. Mon mari, toujours