National Republican., 1883-05-25
A PRACTICAL JOKE.
The Way I'm Which One was Played in
Venice.
Pail Mall Gazette.

Venice.
Pail Mall GaseHe
This year the Venetians have made avigor1
Gus effort to revive the carnival, which had
fallen into draggled and moribund condi-
tion. committee Of festivities was formed
to receive subscriptions and organize gayeties.
Tho result was a week of dancing ON the
great platform in the piazza, where band
made m usic till past midnight; games horse
races, and tripmphal PROFESSIONS in thelnpblic
gardens and four or five masked balls in the
Sala di Ridotto, that great saloon So flled
with the memories Of the gallantry and In!
anity which closed the life of the republic,
But the real success of the carnival was
achieved by an impromptu company. The
students Of Venice and Padua, remember
ing the terrible distress wrought by the
autumn floods in the Veneto, determined to
give grand show, and to devote the pros
ceeds TO the inundated. They began at
Undne, passed through Conegilano and Tres
viso, reaching Venice last of all. A consider
able discussion was raised concerning this
show. No one knew exactly In what 1t was
to consist but some odd stories had leaked,
out, and by the time the students came to
Venice, the curiosity of tho town, always
lively. was worked up to high pitch The
affair promised to be something Of Importance,
for the municipality had granted the host
places on the Piazetta to the students for
their booths, and some soldiers from the
barracks were at work lifting the pavement
and fixing the uprights. Then the company
arrived-250 lads in body, and fell TO upon the
work with a will, hammering up the planks
with great din, driving in four nails whore
one only was required, chattering laugh
ing, and joking with the crowd, whose curl
osity was rapidly becoming unbearably
acute. The day before the opening of the
show had come, and apparently nothing to
show had arrived as yet. Neither st. George
and his dragon, nor the city of Malta, nor the
museum of natural history, nor tho monster
with his head where his tail should be, nor
any of the sights that were advertised.
'Cossa fanno sti natl di caniW what are
they about these sons of dogsp But the only
answer was laughing "Pazionza; pazienza.
Come tomorrow and you will see." And
sure enough on the morrow the show was
opened, and there were all the students with
drums barrel organs, horns, and voices
shouting, banging, and drowning heiother
showmen along tho Riva, running their Gus
tom, and drawing all nthe people mtot the
Piazzetta. walk up! walk up, -signori |!
Here is the only real San Giorgio al naturalp
So the crowd pressed into the small ybooth
between the two columns, One by ono they
were invited to look through peephole, and
there was their old friend San Giorgio Mag
giore staring them calmly in the face.
The students had calculated on the curios-
ity Of their follow countrymen to override
suspicion Of the bare looking booths
and to draw them inside. They counted
with equal certainty upon their holding their
tongues when they got outside for fear of be-
ing laughed at. And those who came out, as
matter of fact, said never word until pres
entity the joke took wind, and for the rest of
the day the crowd streamed through the
booth, each one paying his ten confines. 1t
was the same with all the other booths. At
the theater the company suddenly lost their
voices when all the seats were full, and as
suddenly recovered them when the last dis
appointed playgoer had filed out of the house.
The city of Malta proved 10 be a heap of
lime. Tho museum contained a solitary car
rot Tho monster with his head where no
head should be was the famous one white
horse Of Venice turned the wrong way In the
stall. The slaughter of the innocents was
represented by a certain process Of hairdress-
ing not unknown among the people. The
most audacious jest of all was the booth where
there was absolutely nothing but high
platform, reached by ladder. At the top of
the ladder stood a student with resonant
piano organ. You paid ten centimes TO 20 In,
and, once in, they invite you up to the plat.
form if you would see tho show. The plat
form was soon crowded then away went the
lduuOIt huu Oho ndu W pay DoIOIe one HOI
down. No change given. A priest innocently
handed ten lire note TO the lad with the
organ and waited for his change But off
went the organ; the priests voice was
drowned; tho crowd was against him. "Al-
nance una volta ha fatto la carita p--"At
least this once he has given aims" SO moth
ing remained for him to do but to get down
as best he might at the price Of ten francs.
The Italians always love "burla % and a
practical joke on this enormous scale hurts no
individual susceptibility, for all felt that they
were In the same box, and that these sons
of dogs" Of students were sharp fellows who
deserved support, SO the joke held out for
three days with the utmost good humoy upon
all sides and at the close there remained the
very substantial sum of $4,000 francs raised
in Venice and another $4,000 francs in the
country, to be carried to the account Of tho
"peYeri inondati,"