New-York tribune., 1876-03-11
ITALIAN TOPICS.

DECLINE or TIE CAENIvAL-PRINciPAL FEATURES
OF THE PROGRAMME THIS rEAR-Two BRiilANI
BALLS Al RoMR-sUPPosED EhBEzzLEaENI of
A MILLION DoLLARs-PICTCREs FOR TIE GIN
TENNIAL DISPLAY
lFRoN A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF IHE fRiBuse'i
Ro,,r. Feb. 1o.-Our season, as think told you
at the beginning of Carnival, has been a pau one ;
that is to say, foreigners and especially EnghSh
and Americans have been few. Rome, however
despite most detestable weather. including violent
snow storm compile of days ago q has been rapidly
filing within the last ten days. And it would seem
as if that fact as far il goes and Tor what IL Is
worth indicates the correctness OF the OPINION oil
those who have been crying sd loudly that the iOo-
cries of the Carnival what mainly brings stran-
gers to Rome, and that brilliant" Carnival Is
needed TO bring back prosperity to the Holy ana
Eternal City. WeE If our countrymen on both sides
of the Atlantic will hither to sec people dressed
in eolored calico and painted masks throw plaster OF
Paris pelles at each other, and will not come to sec
our Coliseum. our churches, our Roman temples, our
pictures and our statues, and if the Romans are
willing to 90 through their annual performance to
ap1use them there is no more TO be said The more
cultured portion may as they do, protest; but mean
time the huge scarlet posters announcing the fro
crapmer of the Carnival are covering the walls oil
the city. and the hotels are at last fairly full
For all that the thing is its last legs. And
think may venture to prophesy that there VIII not
be many Carniyals. The old spirit OF the whole
thingi iIrecoverably gone. Ii ID now mere whipped
up business bearing but too Enthusiastically the marks
OF speculation on it's jaded and weary brow. pro-
arammci Why there was no need OF " programme
in the old days. when the revery was spontaneous
and the natural outcome Of the short period OF
license which tempered the despofie ecclesiastical
4 IL narttz a
other times. Now people may dance and fiddle and
have masked balls if they please all the year round
Carnival has lost its raison d6re-not to speak Of
that change in the spirit of tine people which history
has shown to be iuvlriabc, in the case ofa nation
which passes from the childhood of paternai rule to
the serious manhood of self-g0Ycrnment.
1t wonld be tedious and useless waste Of your
space to attempt to give you even an abbreviated
version of the colossal document, which informs
the people how they are to make merry and ENJOY
themselves The usual professions along the Corso,
where on certain days peting is TO TO allowable on
others flowers only are 10 be thrown, and on others
gala eouipagcs are to be safe from any salutatons
which might endauGer magnificent toilets and
splendid carriage Innings, to be diversified by
fairs held in various parts Of the town, by the
running of the bGrbcri, which has again and again
been described nd aaaseqm and by concerts" in the
open air with, ii one may judge by what we have
had for tie last two DAYS, the IiastOne Chorus"
performed as Handel never dreamed of, together
with masked balls at the thcaters and under the
municipalities own roof at the Capitol. al accord.
ing 10 programme! masked ball at the Capitol
Who shall say that our fathers of the municipality
the historic 5. i. Q. Rare not Jealous for the
prosperity of the city Their account perhaps may
be a few millions agee and we don't get the new
markets and new streets which We had been led to
hope for. Bat these are mere workaday matters,
which only base-minded utitarians speak or think
of in carnival time. MOtley's the only wear for
these DAYS The false rose is the thing. Come and
bring the Lord Of Misrule' with you into our own
venerable halls. The "Yenus of the Capitol shall
be the shortest Killed gt-o- heels that can lift a
toe TO the level of bernoSe and that other in marble
Shall he hidden ont of the way and s1rouded. Play
up, fddlcTs and never mind the cackling Of the
modern geese OF the Capitol.
Wen Dalce est dc,jpere in loco! Specially, sup
pose in such place. And T. for one, have nothing
to say against it, But the mischief Of ii is that there
is no desiperc in the business. 1t is business
business of the most prosacally scrape-pcnny char
actcr And this the genuine essence of the thing Is
c;riously illustrated by feature Of the pro-
gramme which recurs al every second line of it. All
is 10 lie done under promise Of certain prizes. Many
thousand francs, as per programme, are TO he dis
tributed In prizes. Prizes TO the most gorgeous
moving pageant in the Corso prizes 10 the best stall
at the fairs, prizes to the most novel and brll-
liant mask at the balls, prizes to the most splendid
toilet. All TO be paid for their exertiOns in the
heavy work of amusing themselves And in truth
they deserve TO be paid, for are they not borng 10
bring crst TO the mills of their iellOw-citizeus as
well as their own?
OF indoors unofficial Carnival doings there mas
ba,t, Loll
given at the Quirinal and other places. The Ameri
can bachelors lave especially distinguished them
selves, two of the Landsomost and pleasantcst-
qualities that do not always go tOgcther-balls oi
the season having been given by hosts in that for
lorn position. First OF the two in the field was Mr.
Wurtz, Secretary of the American Legation, whose
really magnificent suite OF in the same palace
with the Chnccry Of the Legation in the Via della
Fontaualla di BOrghesa, is admirably adapted for
the purpose. The host himself opened the ball with
the Princess Paavicini who had for their ris-i-ris
Lady Pdget the wife OF the English Minister, with
a Prince of Wurtemburg. The whole Of the Corps
Dipomatiquc were present, think without excep-
ton, including the members of the japanese Lega-
ton. Had the guests moi been supping of and on I'll
night, they would have been ready for breakfast,
when the sun broke i'll upon their rcyels.
The other ball TO which have alluded was given
by Mr. Marshall the brother-n-aw of cur we'll
known painter, Mr.. w. Stanley IIaseltine The ball
was given in the great conccrt-rOom known as the
Saa Dante, in the immediate vicinity Of the ccle
brated Acqug Treyi. The bali was pronounced on
all hands to have been brilliant and enjoyable as
for some occult reason it is said bachelors parties
have a special privilege of being; and while Mr.
Marshalls guests were pledging each other in more
generous liquor. many feryently breathed wish
might have been heard that he himself would take