The National tribune., 1881-08-27
THE COMET.
BY NM. ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN.

Last year, just before the carnival. there was
report in HunebOurg that the world was coming
TO an end. DIR. ZachariaS Piper, of Coimar, first
spread this dsagreeble news; it spoken of in
the Lame Messenger, in the Perfect Christian, and
in fifty other journals.
Zacharias Piper had calculated that a comet
would descend from the skies on Shrove Tues
day. having tail formed of boiling water, one
hundred and five million miles in length, melt
the snow on the highest mountains, wither the
trees. and burn up everybody.
learned man, named POpinot. had written
from Paris to say that there was no doubt the
comet would come. but that its tail would be
composed of such light vapOr as to cause no one
the least inconvenience: that people might 90 on
quietly with their business: that he would an
swer for everything. This assurance allaved
much alarm.
But unfortunately there lives at HunebOurg,
in the little street of the Three Jugs" an old
wool-spinner named Maria Finck. She is little,
pale withered old woman. covered with wrinkles.
whom people 90 and consult on the most delicate
and important affairs of life She lives in low
room. the ceiling of which is decorated with
painted eggs red and blue stripes, glded nuts,
and a thousand other fancifUl objects. She
dresses herself up in old finery and lives on
echdude. which two things give her great au-
thOrity in the neighborhoOd.
Maria Finck, instead Of approving of good NJ.
PopinOts opinion, declared herself to be on the
side of Zacharias Piper, and kept saying: Be
converted and pray; repent Of your sins, and
give TO the Church. for the end Of the world is at
hand, the end is at hand"
At the farthest end OF the room was picture
of hell to which people were all going down by
a path all sown with roses None of them
seemed to have suspicion about the place to
which this road was leading them; they were
dancing along. some with bottle in their hands,
some with ham, Others with string of sausages
4 workman, with ribbons flying from his hat
was playing the cariOnet to amuse them on their
way. Some were kissing their partners. and all
these poor wretches were heedleSSy approach
ing the pit full of flames, into which already the
foremost falling their arms extended and
their legs in the air
1t is easy to imagine what would be the ref1ec-
tiOns of every sensible person on looking at this
picture. No one is so virtuGus as not to have a
certain number Of sins on his conscience:
So most of the people of Hunebourg agreed
that they would have no carnival but spend
ShrOve Tuesday in acts of repentance
Never had such thing been heard Of before
The adjutant and captain, as well as the nOn-cOm-
missiOned officers in garrison at Hunebourg were
quite in despair All the preparations for the
fete-the decorations of the great hall of the
mayOralty with moss and trophies of arms: the
stage raised for the orchestra; the beer, kirsch.
all their arrangements were to be of no use since
the young ladies of the town would no longer
hear a word about the dance
Il am not cruel fellow" said Sergeant
Duchene; "but if / got hold of your Zacharias
Piper he should have hard time of it,"
But with all this, those who were most dis
tressed and disappointed Daniel Spitz, the
secretary of the mayoralty; Jerome Bertha the
postmaster's son; Duiardin, the tax-cOllector
and l. 4 week before we had gone to Strasbourg
on purpose to buy ourselves fancy costumes
Uncle Tobias had given me fifty francs out of
his own pocket so that i need spare nothing |
therefore had chosen for myself, at MademOselle
DardenaIs, the costume of a clown. This con-
sists of kind of shirt, with wide folds and long
sleeves trimmed with OniOn-Shaped buttons as
big as ones fist which are set so close from the
throat down to the knee as to rattle against each
other. little black skull cap is to be worn on
the head, and the face whitened with flour
Provided one has long nose, and deep sunken
eyes, the effect is admirable.
Dujardin, because of his fat paunch had
chosen Turkish costume, embroidered up all
the seams; Spitz, the dress of Punch, made of a
thousand pieces of red, green, and yellow stuff
hump IN front, one behind, and great gen
darmes hat to be worn on the back of his head
nothing could be better Jerome Bertha was to
be savage and was to have plume of parrots
feathers.
We felt sure beforehand that all the young
girls would leave the soldiers to have US as their
partners.