, 1890-10-22
LARGE MEN ON PARADE.
. PROCESSION OF GIANTS IN A
PAGEANT AT BRUSSELS.

An Interesting Description OF "A Very
Amusing Spectacle Illustrative Of Pop
uIar Legends In Belgium Genuine
Mountains Of Flesh In Costume
For weeks the foreign readers Of
Brussels ~ewspaper must have been
puzzled by meeting with paragraphs
such as "Antigon and his wife Pallas
nave arrived and taken up their quarters
at the town stores" for Goliath, his
wife. and their sol are expected tonight.
and win lodge at the Communal school,
No. o." and the like. The fact is that a
general meeting Of the giants and other
representatives of popular legends Of all
the towns of Belgium had beer arranged
as one of the principal features Of the
great national fetes. and it was certainly
not the least interesting feature of them.
We bad the privilege OF seeing them all,
from grave to gay, from the tallest
down to the smallest-walk together in
a cortege such as WIS never seen before,
and which viii 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, aud they looked. indeed, very
neat and smart. Numerous musical
bands were interspersed among the
c0rtege, which was ushered in by gem
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 a whole family of newly ere
ated giants-the giants Of the future,
twenty small giants, eighteen capari-
soned horses, the relatives of the small
giants and the elastic giants,
NOTED 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 poo
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 tho motion of a funny giant must
be funny. On "A chariot followed little
Manneken. surnamed 1.-The oldest bur
gess 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 lEtuve.
Manneken, who enjoys a yearly in
come Of 900f. 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 a 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 1.-THE bring
ing in of the harvest" The ancient
workmen's society. the Companions of
st. Lawrence, accompanied with bccom-
ing pride their giants Mieke and Jan
neke, and also the wheel of fortune and
the Meyboom, a tree which is erected
every year in Brussels in commemora-
ton Of n repulse 500 years z of the
people OF Client, who had come to Mt
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 TURF 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 a very
creditable appearance. The company Of
the Grand Serment from Hal walked
before the giants from Grammont. The
small town Of Vilvord 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 n horse Beyaard,
has sent the giants usually attending ON
it-Polydoor, Polydora and Polydoor-
ken. AT tho request of the organizing
committee, Tarascon, in France. had
consented to send its palladium, LA
Tarasque. once an anthropophagist mon
ster, said to have beer tanned and cured
Of its bad habits by st. Martha, who had
gone with Mary Magdalen to Tarascon
10 convert the people there to Chr;stiani-
ty. Two very fierce looking giants were
those from Newport and Hasselt, the
last called 'De lange man." and long
indeed he iA-Brussels Cor. London