The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-03-14
OUR GERMAN LETTER.
Hum0rs Of the Carnival in Ger
many-Obscryations Of a New
Orleanian Abroad.
European Correspondence Of the ful,otin.i

DeIr DWtetW IN my last COMMUNICATION
gave you brief sketch Of my personal az
ventures, on the occasion Of the Germa
NIardi Gras, and lave thought that you
readers might rellafs be interested in heal
ing of some OF the humorous features Of TIN
great annual holiday, as it il observed i
Khcnish Prussia, for every country has It
peculiar ideas Of fun, and in land where til
national character is one OF profound dgm' Y
as is certainly the case IA Germany. it i
natural to expect some such development
of the humorous spirit IS n. o.heS eountr,
would produce
In gay city like Paris, or amid the 70
mantle Italians OF Rome and Venice, the tes
Invites of the Carnival season partake to q
great extent of most eXtrayagant and fancltul
conce ptions Of mind, such as are supposed to
spring from the human brain only in those
sunny chmes, where the pursuit Of pleasure
forms an important element of every day life,
and where one half Of the people look upon
existen ce as a sort Of ileeting holiday. which
they must devote to amusement while the
sun shines and the intirmities of old age come
not. In our own New Orleans this spirit pre-
walls more or less, having doubtless been in
fused into the popular mind by the influence
of the French element, 50 predominant III
Louisiana, and nurtured by the warm sun,
whose beams ripen the golden fruits of the
tropics. But in Germany, the land of science.
of philosophy, Of materialism, one would
hardly suppose there was room for the deyel-
opment Of a fantastic spirit of pleas
ure. There is, however, an under-current
of humOr in the most serious national char
acter, and though the preyerbial gravity of
the German mind can be traced even to the
children one meets in the street, yet when
the occasion comes they can all enter with
hearty good will into popular amusements;
and, from the evident commotion that pre-
coded the Carnival, | felt that there was no
little interest taken in it by the populace
generally, and was little curious to see how
these sober, steady-going people would behave
on the occasion ola public masquerade. As
] stated i'll my last letter, the festivities began
in earnest on Sunday evening, and from that
time until the coming OF Tuesday night there
was but little diminution in tie
activity of the maskers, though the |
whole time it was bitter, freezing |
cold, and the last two days the streets were |
covered with that most dsagreeable sort Of |
mud caused by incessant trampling upon
new fallen snow. The most popular disguise
among the male portion of the maskers was
simply peasants ID ouse Of coarse blue
cloth, an imm ense artificial beard and soft
cap fitting closely around the head aud hang
ing down at the side in point The students,
who formed such large proportion Of the en-
tire concourse. were almost exclusively thus
attired, and as point of ethics, or perhaps
for purposes OF recognition, they all
wore white kid gloves. These gay young fell
lows consorted III large parties and occasion
ally would meet some gentleman acquaintance
who was not IN costume, when the unforu- |
nate individual would have to submit to the
assiduous greetings, haud-shakngs, and ques-
hons OF score or more of mischlevous mask
ers; and when at last permitted to escape
would be followed by their shouts and cries (
or square or two AT least. One party of stu
dents, numbering about fifteen or twenty. {
marched everywhere in single file each bold I
ing on to the skirt of the one in front of him,
ana keeping step like trained soldiers. When Z
hey CHANGED to see a solitary female, or even 4
TWO together, the leader would give a signal
upon which the whole line would trot of, all +
holding on like game OF children, and pre- I
enting most comical appearance in their
ray boards and blue spectacles, and upon
'vertaklng the ladies' would encircle them
WITH sort OF war dance, winding III and ont \
nd clearly frustrating all the efforts Of the
rad llr To-
'een kept upa minute or two when the leader
you'd give another sign. and the line would O
rot away again to seek new adventures The 81
aides were treated with the utmost respect. $
However, and ON their part seemed to take the o.
oke very Well indeed. There was another II
'arty OF three or four who went from place to y
lace with two or three light chairs, into one y,
which they would occasionally force an I'M "A
masked byst nder ana so through with the
arce OF taking bis photograph much Ms we It
ave seen negro Ministries DO AT home There b,
ms very handsome display Of i holiday 9,
ompany Of grenaders, with cooked hats, = !,
oHdered Wigs etc, representing, | suppose | n
ne famous guards of Frederick the Great. 4,
hese were evidently soldiers, from their ad- be
nrabe drill, and as they halted in their u
larch tor some purpose, probably for the II
ihcers to get glass OF beer. some masker In Il
le surrounding crowd blew 4 lively bugle u
iiot' winch HdIptuGu 70 Dear some reStm +
lance TO one OF the calls used IN the army
nd IN an instant the drum struck I'm, mus III
cts were shouldered, and away they marched ~
i on n false alarm. IL
This save rise TO considerable merriment II
ut the lellow who blew the call conct aled his =
'umpet beneath his yoluminous draperv, and n
as not TO be found 4 lady who visited to %
et a better view OF the lively scene than was IA
forded from her window. made her appear AZ
ace in the market-pltce III an open carriage. al
al IN fancled security enjoyed herself for 81
,me time, watching the lively antics Of the
-otesque crowd by whom She was sur u
funded, but one enterpli,ing genius in the ~
,owd thought that il would be IA To- this +,
looker-on IN Vienna TO contribute a little TIL
the amusement OF those whose doiugs co
.emed to amuse her so much 50. while ~
le was entirely bent upon watching the =
ovemtnts of the surrounding makers ana :
lying upon the supposed security afforded 49,