The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-11-14
LARoE MEN ON PARADE.
A Procession Of Giants In a Pageant
at Brussels.
London Times

a Prccesslon OF Giants In a Pageant
at Brussels.
London Times.l
For weeks the foreign readers of
Brussels newspapers must have been
puzzled by meeting with paragraphs
such as "Antigon and his wife Pallas
have arrived and taken up their quarters
at the town stores" for Goliath, his
wife, and their son are expected tonight
and will lodge at the Communal school,
No. o." and the like. The fact is that
general meeting of the giants and other
representatives OF popular legends of all
the towns of Belgium had been arranged
as one of the principal features of the
great national fetes, and it was certainly
not the least interesting feature of them.
We had the privilege of seeing them all,
from grave to gay, from the tallest
down to the smallest-walk together in
cortege such as was never seen before,
and which will not be soon forgotten to
those who witnessed it.
The origin of the giants dates, Of
course, from very remote times, and the
quaintest legends are attached to them.
Considerable expense and trouble have
bean incurred to dress them well for the
solemnity. and they looked, indeed, very
neat and smart. Numerous musical
bands were interspersed among the
cortege, which was ushered in by gen.
darmes on horseback, and opened with
the group of St Michael. the patron
saint of Brussels, on horseback, followed
by the dragon, conducted by maidens.
The historical carriage of the Amman of
Brussels, with an escort Of horsemen,
preceded Il whole family of newly Gre
ated giants-the giants Of the future,
twenty small giants, eighteen capari-
soned horses, the relatives of the small
giants and the elastic giants.
NoSED GIANTS.
After these new tangled personages
came the genuine old Brussels giants
Janneke, Mieke, Grandpapa, Grand
mamma. My Uncle and the Grand Turk.
Very funny it is TO see the giants peep
in at the first and second floors of the
houses which they pass. as if they were
to find out all family secrets The peo-
pie walking underneath the giants and
bearing them have to do their task well
too, for the movements of each giant
must be in keeping with his character
An ogre giant must move like an ogre,
and the motion of funny giant must
be funny. On chariot followed little
Manneken, surnamed "the oldest bur-
CESS of Brussels" who did not seem too
much fatigued from last Sundays work,
when he served wine to the people in the
same way in which he acts every day as
fountain in the Rue de l'Etuve.
Manneken, who enjoys yearlys in
come of 200f bequeathed to him many
years ago by an old maid, which income
serves to keep up his very varied ward
robe Che is by turns an old nobleman, a
civic guard and burgess), had put on
his rich Louis XIV costume, with the
cross of st. Louis, which Louis XIV had
conferred on him. A society bearing
the high sounding and ancient title of
"Societe du Grand Serment Royal de
st. Georges" preceded the pretty groups,
the mayors entry into the village"
the village wedding" and "the bring
ing in of the harvest" The ancient
workmen's society, the Companions of
st. Lawrence, accompanied with becom-
ing pride their giants Mieke and Jan
neke, and also the wheel of fortune and
the Meyboom, tree which is erected
every year in Brussels in commemora-
ton of repulse 500 years ago of the
people of Client, who had come to at
tack the people of Brussels.
FEATURES OF THE MARCH.
In quick succession moved now the So
cieties of the Humpbacks of the Anchor,
the old Guild of Fencers of st. Job. the
"Cockchafer Hunters" with their music,
and the golfers in working gear.
And now came the turn of the pro-
vincial giants and legends. First of them
was the famous Doudou of Mons, COM
memorating the triumph of Christianity.
The giants of Nivells. Argayin, his wife,
their son and the horse Gdet had very
creditable appearance. The company of
the Grand Serment from Hal walked
before the giants from Grammont. The
small town of Vilyord figured in the
cortege with five giants and its queer OPP
Signorken. and Ath had sent the COM
plete biblical set, Goliath with his wife,
the shepherd David and the devil
Great regret was felt at the absence of
the horse Beyaard from Termonde, but
Alost, which has also horse Beyaard,
has sent the giants usually attending on
it-Polydoor, Polydora and Polydoor-
ken. At the request of the organizing
committee, Taraseon, in France, had
consented to send its palladium, ''La
Tarasque, once an anthropophagist mon
ster, said to have been tanned and cured
of its bad habits by st. Martha, who had
gone with Mary Magdalen to Tarascon
to convert the people there to Christiani-
ty Two very fierce looking giants were
those from Newport and Hasselt, the
last called DE lange man." and long
inl I1n &c