The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-05-09
The Carnival In spain.
By JoHN Hay.


tive purity only in Spain. 1t has faded
in Rome into romping day of clowns
play. In Paris it is little more than n
buster season for dreary and professional
vice. Elsewhere all over the world the
Carnival gayeties are confined to the
salon. But in Madrid the whole city from
grandee to the cordwainer, goes with child
like earnestness into the enjoyment of the
hour. The Corso begins in the Prado on
the last Sunday before Lent, and lasts four
days. From noon to night the great
drive is filled with double line of car.
riages two miles long, and between them
are the landaus of the favored hundreds
who have the privilege of driving up and
down free from the law of the road This
right is acquired by the payment of ten
dollars day to city charities, and pro-
duces some fifteen thousand dollars every
Carnival. In these carriages all the socie-
ty of Madrid may be seen; and on foot,
darting in and out among the hoofs of the
horses, are the young men of CASTLE in
every conceivable variety Of absurd and
fantastic disguise. There are of course
pirates and Indians and Turks, monks,
prophets, and kings, but the favorite CO.'S
tunes seem to be the Devil and the Eng.
lishman. Sometimes the Yankee is at.
tempted, with Indifferent success. He
wears a ribbon-wreathed Italion bandit,
hat, an embroidered jacket, slashed buck
skin trousers, and wide crimson belt, Q
dress you would at once recognize as uni
versal in Boston.
Most of the maskers know by name Al
least the occupants ofthe carriages. Their,
is always room for a mask in a coach
They leap in, swarming over the back Of
the sides, and in their shrill monotonou
scream they make the most startling re
velations Of the inmost secrets of YOU
soul. There is always something impres
sivs in the talk of the unknown voice, bu
especially is this so in Madrid. wher,
every one who scorns his own business
and devotes himself vigorously to hi,
neighbor's. These shrieking young monk.
and devilkins often surprise half form
ed thought in the heart of fair Castilar
and drag it out into day and derision. NJ
one has the right to be offended. Ouch
esses are called Tu Isabel by chin
dimpled school.boys, and the proudes
beauties in Spain accept bonbons from
plebeian hands. 1t is true, most of thu
maskers are of the better class. Some o
the costumes are very rich and expensive
of satin and velvet heavy with gold.
have seen distinguished dipomatist il
the guise Of gigantic canary-bird, hop
ping briskly about in the mud with be
draggled tail.feathers, shreking well.bre,
sarcasms with his yellow beak.
The charm of the Madrid Carnival i
this, that is respected and believed in.-
The best and fairest pass the day in tn
Corso, and gallant young gentlemen thinl
it worth while to dress elaborately for
few hours Of harmless and spirtuelle in
trigue. A society that enjoys holida,
80 thoroughly has something in it bette
than the blase cynicsm of more oivilize
capitals. These young fellows talk lik
the lovers Of old romances have neve
heard prettier periods of devotion tina
from some gentle savage, stretched out o
the front seat Of landau under the peer
ing eyes of his lady, safe in his disguis
if not self-betrayed,p pouring out his youn
soul in passionate praise and prayer
around them the laughter and the cries
the cracking of whips, the roll of wheel.
the presence Of countless thousands an
yet these two young hearts alone unde
The pale winter sky. The rest of the cor
tinent has outgrown the true Carniva
1t is pleasant to seethis gay relic of sim
pier times, when youth was young N
one here is to "swell" for it. You ma
find duke in the disguise of chimney
sweep, or butcher-boy in the dress of
Crusader. There are none so great tha
their dignity would suffer by days reck
less foolery, and there are none so poo
that they cannot take the price of dir
ner to buy mask and cheat their miser
by mingling for time with their better
) in the wild license of the Carnival
From the atlantic Monthly, far April