The Colfax chronicle. (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1876-1877, 1877-06-09
Our New York Letter.
New YoRK. May, 20, II

Our Now 10fk I6tC6rs
New YoRK. May, 20. II.
Editor CHRONICLE
To say that Folly ruled the city
on Tuesday last, would be telling
a sort of double-barreled truth,
so far as the Carnival was con-
cerned. The morning dawned as
bright and baltny as ever upon the
famed Mardi Gras of Naples, and
everything was propitious for
the holiday experiment which it
was the advertised intention of
the managers to firmly engraft
upon the New York calendar. An
ticipation, toward the last, had
spread like some infectious epi-
demic, until it had touched even
the most incredulous of the scoff-
ers and GROWERS. Probably very
small proportion only of the in
habitants had more than the
vaguest idea of what a Carnival is
or should be, but all could under
stand the announcement Of pro-
cessions, and everybody was on
the streets to see what fun the day
would develop. It has been as
serted that on but two previous
occasions in the history Of the
city-namely, at the time Of Lin
coins funeral, and on the Centen-
NAL Fourth Of July-hsva there
been seen such street assemblages.
OF the caravan / have little to
say further than it was almost en-
tirely composed of advertising
wagons of butchers, bakers, and
candlestick makers" sprinkled
with brewers and patent-right men.
Decidedly the best display in the
train, and, in fact, its redeeming
feature, was an enormous wheeled
platform, or float" in the Ian
guage of the carnival, prepared by
the Ponds Extract Company
Towering upon this was q colossal
pasteboard bottle, which, could it
have been filed, would have held
enough of the welfknown remedy
to cure the aches of q nation. In
front of the bottle sat q young girl
in white, resting in fancy little
boat drawn by swans, while at the
corners reclined four of the most
made mp" frogs that
evermasqueraded. These green
backs" could open and shut their
big mouths and roll their great
google eyes in the most startling
and froggish manner; and as the
float slowly sailed up the sea OF
faces, tumultuous applause kept
even. pace with it. This the frogs
entirely to themselves,
bowling and kissing their webbed
paws to the multitude with q mimic
gravity that was quite irresistible.
One or two other concerns made
feeble attempts to embody some
thing of the proper spirit Of the
day, but they didn't succeed.
The evening display, thanks to
the idcompetency Of the managers
was not much better. The ale
gorical floats were mostly either
passable or poor-largely the lat
ter. There was no discipline or
order in the dramatis personae or
the miscellaneous crowd of yehi-
cles and pedestrians which jostled
and mingled with the regular pro-
cession. To add to the farce, no
adequate provision of torches or
other illumination had been made,
and the sorry train dragged itself
through its prescribed route amid
melancholy darkness and the
shouts of would-be spectators,
who called for candles to see the
show by. The day and evening
we're bad enough in all conscience,
but the ball which wound up this
melancholy celebration was by far
the broadcast exhibition of imbecil-
ity of those who had it in charge.
0ilmore's Garden had been cover
ed with 10000 square feet of dane
ing floor, two bands of music had
been engaged, and vast quantities
of champagne and other refresh
ments ordered. The half dozen
couples or 80 who veptured out
into the desolate waste OF door,
looked very much, to use a homely
comparison, like flies in pan OF
milk. RADIx.