Morning journal and courier., 1882-07-28
Sol1rnal arto Courier.
Friuay forming, July 28. 1882.
The Dance of the Lilies.
A Description of the Feast of Sam Paoltn
 Ma

Description of the Feast of San Paolino
 in Naples.
 The Nap les correspondent of the London Veacs writing about the feast of San Paolino avs:
 ''It is o'clock in the morning. The pi- azza del Municipio is crowded with people aot black crown only relieved by pink faces IS in England-but 8 crowd in which the predomir ant colors are white, red, and blue. By the efforts of our mendicant guide, who has never left us, we obtain seats on the roof | of & three story house, under the too slight i shade of an improvised awning of sheets. | We are in company of well-to-do country | folk and their wives, the latter decked in | bright colored silk dresses. long gold chains, l and earrings set with immense pearls also l poor women in white or printed jackets-or bed gowns, as we should call them-and colored skirts, and many little children and girls, who perch on the parapet of the roof. We are on the southwestern side of the piaz- ga, the Municipal Palace being to our left, the unfinished cathedral to our right Over the latter the morning sun shines with al- most unbearable power. On the unfinished buttresses and wings of the cathedral sit groups of women, so close to the unprotect- ed edge that it makes one dizzy to look at them. All other vantage points and terraces are also crowded. We are on corner house,
 and the principal street of Nola runs below
 us on the right ride, and is continued at the
 opposite corner of the square. A little with
 in this second portion of the street, and ex-
 actly opposite us, stands one of the gigli,
 nearly filling up the way, and close to the
 Municipal Palace stands 8 second at the left
 hand corner of the square.
 We soon hear the sound of music in the street on our left. We look over the para pet and there, advancing up the street to the sound of gay Neapolitan melody, comes quivering and swaying towering high above the housetops. the giglio of the vintners, it's mirror decorations glittering in the sun, and the gayly dressed Virgin at the top lowing to the motion. The six or eight musicians are in their seats on the lower scaffolding, and boys and men to the number of 10 or 12 are perched on different parts of the machine, while inside the flower decoration of the back we can discern a man high up among the lighter scatfolding. The whole affair now rests, by means of inserted bars of wood, on the shoulders of from 35 to 40 men who average about 10 to each side of the square base, which Is about 12 feet in diameter. Naturally, the men in front cannot see those behind, nor those on one side those on the other, so they are led by man who walks backward before them, beating time with hands and feet, and there are besides mum Der of ready helpers, to lay hold of the pro
 jecting beams and pull or push as occasion requires, or to take the place of some ex hausted bearer. If some great artist could ,opy the numerous figures their agony of exertion, and in the magnificent attitudes they assume, with every muscle stretched. he would produce 8 masterpiece. Most of them have bare arms, throats, and chests, wearing nothing but light trousers and white shirts, or undershirts many adorned with red sashes round their waists and bright silk kerchiefs loosely tied round their necks. and almost all wear the red embroidered feZ on their heads Handsome forms and faces one sees among them. They are almost all Neapolitans, porters at the customhouse, famous for their strength, and mostly live at San Giovanni Teduccio, near Portici. They come to the feast at Nola every year, it be- ing their Especially to carry the gigli.
 s'The lofty machine advances, recedes, takes dancing motion in response to tie rhythmic jumps of the bearers; faster and faster plays the band, till there is need of rest, and the machine is deposited much nearer the entrance to the square than it was before. Now we hear music and fireworks on the opposite side and the pyramid of the tailors, in the other portion of tho principal street, is on the point of starting. The bear CTS are all ready, a whistle is heard, and quietly, with one mighty heave, the machine dancing backward and forward. Before it a group of lads and bearers, ready to take their turn, shout and leap and clap their hands. indulging in the widest gestic1lations of joy Crackers are let off to clear the way, and the mass advances with immense impetus fairly
 
 upheld one of the corners of this gigio was full of pain, as he convulsive1y grasped with h1s free hand the shoulder of man that walked hear him helping to guide, while others coolly smoked cigars the while There eoaifdt-be pc models for-earvatidss than these men, and one can understand how ancient people could accomplish such enor ! nous works without machinery when one sees the force and energy of number of ! strong men working with one will. Now the | giglio of the cheesemongers, which has been ! waiting quietly in the corner of the square, ! takes it's turn to dance ard the two others can resist no longer; their bands recomnence 1 playing, each different popular melody i; the vlntners enter the square, and the three 1 tall pyramids not only hop but waltz round ! and round on their bases The tunes are | changed to the tarantella, the waltzing of the ! gigli becomes more and more frantic, the ! strength of the bearers is exerted to the ut ! most, the machines circle dangerously near | to each other, the shoulders of the corner bearers come in contact as they turn and on \ ly the efforts of the pushing and supporting outsiders prevent an actual shock between ! +he several scaffoldings ah hich would inevit- ! ably crush some of the bearers. The people ! in the square rush hither and thither the | huge giants advance and turn the men and ! boys in front dance more frantically; col lision of the gigli with each other against the ! wall of the cathedral-which I once saw ! shaved by the shoulders af the bearers near } est it-appears more and more inevitable as ehe dance grows wilder; the police are obliged to interfere, for both bearers and
 leaders are violently excited, and, with great | ff,rt at last bring the machines to a stand still.
 1 one after the other. the giglio of the bakers, \ of the smiths, of the p0doE07oS, (fru1t and vegetable venders,) of the butchers, of the shoemakers, and finally an elegant bark, its \ stout mast surmounted by Turkish flag. 1 At the prov is Grand Vizier, or some such ! parsonage; at it's stern the bust of San Pao lino, and a crew of Turks and band of musi- clans complete it's equipment. The Grand ! V1zler throws sugar cOmfits among the crowd l With various mar oeuvres, in which some of | the pyramids have to retire into the streets ! and advance again when room is made. all l are got into the square, and as many as have 1 room to dance continue the revel. All nine bands play at once, till by degrees the waltzine ! pyramids which remind one at once of some ! barbaric Indian or Chinese festival, of some l frast of Juggernaut, and of church steeples ! and minarets gone mad-are all steady and l arranged four on one side of the square, and ! the bark in the middle in front of the Muni ! cipal Palace. The bearers disperse for much. ] needed refreshments, and there is short | pause. The several Virgins, St. Michael the ! Archangel, St. Felix, St. Paulitius, and other \ saints at the summits of the pyramids cease | to nod their heads to the beat of the music l Very soon the bearers return; pushing l through the crowd with their thick slaves OF ! their shoulders, and kind of reve
 commences. In front of each stationary gig l lio is formed 8 group of bearers. One in the I centre carries a thing like Roman lictor's
 staff, bound with crossed ribbons and sur
 mounted by bunch of flowers. The nine
 bands strike up furious tarantella, the n inc
 groups begin to dance gracefully, gayly in
 toxicatingly, their leaps astounding their at
 titudes almost always harmonious. Witl 1 arms interlaced they whirl round the centre 1 man, till at last he is mounted on the shouI l ders of another, and a second couple faces
 him, waving flag, while the dance becomes
 more and more rapid and mad. The hulla.
 baloo is indescribable the air trembles with 1 the clashing sounds of the nine bands and
 shouts of the applauding crowd and this
 bacchanal is at it's height when, to the sound
 of church bells, the head of the religious
 procession enters the cornes of the square.
 "The tarrantella stops all at once as the
 thin line of white and purple clothed acolytes
 and priests advances through the crowd, fol ! low ed by the Bishop of Nola in his robes oi