The daily gazette., 1881-03-21
OUR PARIS LETTER.
VICTOR Hueo-THE cARNIvAL AND
-MARDI GRAs.


One was the ovation by France to her
favorite poet, Victor Hugo on his
eightieth birthday. The other was
the Carnival at Vincennes, followed
by the Mardi Gras in the streets of
Paris.
The Arst was celebrated by half
million of admirers OF the hale old
poet. The second by as many of the
merry people of Paris and vicinity,and
the last by all the people of the city
and the suburbs.
In the Hugo celebration, the broad
Boulevard that approaches the city
from the wet by way of the Arc de
Triumph was black with the moving
mass as far out as one could see.
The carnival was held in Vincennes,
beyond the Place de Trone, which is
on the Boulevard that enters the city
from the east, over 8 miles from the
western entrance, and the whole dis
tance was crowded as an ant-hill by
horses, wagons and people.
The Parisians delight in an excuse
to gather in crowd. They are excit-
able and unstable and will cruelty to-
morrow the hero of whom they make
a God to day. But in the case of Vic
tor Hugo there as never been re
vulsion of the popular feeling in all
the sixty years in which his fame as
the poet of France has been steadily
growing, aud his crowning glory
comes to him in the winter of his il
lustrious life instead of the afterbloom
that only comes after death to most
poets.
The cerem opy of crowning the peet
with laurel and the songs and speeches
addressed TO him, took place in the
Trocadero, where President Greyy
and the Parliament met and welcomed
him. Songs were sung, (hls own);
speeches were made and flowers and
laurels were scattered over him by
charming young ladies.
Victor Hugo is a stout, hale look
ing old gentleman with pleasant and
benevolent cast of countenance, though
We failed to notice any of the remark
able indications of genius that are said
rest on the brow of the illustrious
poet. To us, he looked more like
successful and benevolent old farmer
who could afford to be magnanimous.
For the carnival we luckily secured
seats in the Tramcar which worked
its way through the vast crowd form
ed of the two professions and their
attendants. Both ceremonies were at
their best Mt the same hour, and we
could not tell VIII ere one crowd ended
and the other began. At times the
car was unable to proceed through the
throng, and as the stoppages general
ly took place at points of interest we
were not at all impatient.
We stopped at the new Hotel de
Vile in its unfinished state with the
scaffolding all around it. The origi-
nal building was burned by the Com
munsts in 1871 aud six hundred per-
sons were burned in it, together with
the valuable library and statutes.
IA little further is the Barriers de
Irone, which is at the gate of the east
ern entrance through the city walls.
HeIe are erected two lofty columns
over two hundred feet high, surmount-
ed by fine statues. Here Louis XIV
erected his throne and received the
homage of tho Parislans, in the olden
time.
Near by, is tho Chateau de VtnceD8es,
a feudal fortress of great size and
strength, with an old donjon tower,
which Louis XI made into a state
prison, in which he is SAID to have de-
lighted to torture his victims. Here
were imprisoned the Prince dc Conde
by Marie de Medicis, here Mirabeau
spent good part of his life and the
Ilnbn IL n nrrhfoT - ban fYar,,
dreary vaults and murdered by Ma
poleon, and here the bloody Charles
TX came to die of grief and remorse
for the st. Bartholomew massacre, ,ifor
which he was in great part RESPONSE
BILE.
1t was here we met the grand pro-
cession proper of the Carnival, which
WAS headed by large platform wagon
drawn by four white Normandy horses.
Tho prize white OK of the National
Agricultural Exhibition of last week
occupied the place of honor on the
wagon, which was adorned by flags,
banners and gay ribbons. Ladies rep
resenting Ceres and other Goddesses
along the way.
Next came another wagon on which
were the prize sheep of the exhibition,
also accom- panied by bevy of pretty
girls in bright costumes, and girls
and sheep garlanded with flowers.
Next, a troop of gay and fantastic fell,
lows on richly capaiisoned horses, rep
resanting every noted character from
king to peasant, every fellow bent on
getting all the fun possible out of the
occasion. With these were eques..
triennes-queens, prineesses AID ladies
OF high degree clad in magnificent at
tire aud riding the prsttiest white pal
freys, all bent on fun and mischief and
pelting each other and the admiring
crowd with the dough or plaster balls,
of which they carried a supply in
silken bags hung on their saddles. All
wore masks of some kind, many of
which were only huge nose that Gov
cred the greater part of the face.
Had the sun shone brightly the pa
geant would have been splendid, but q
muddy road and a drizzling rain de-
tract greatly from the romance and
beauty of such scsne.
All this occurred on Sunday, the
day on which are held all the popular
meetings, the celebrations, the balls
and sven the elections N France.
Mardi Grds, however, was from the
nature of the case celebrated ON the
follAxwipor Tuaedav and waa littla n, .,,.