The record-union., 1894-02-27
MARDI GRAS IN PARIS.
Scenes in the Gay French Capital on
Shrove tuesday.
The Happy and Fun-Loving People
Need No Police to Regulate
Their Sports.

Especial Correspondence REcoRD-UNIoN.l
PARIS, Feb. 8. = The observance of
Mardi Gras at Paris has never been so
general as this year. Until three years
ago, in fact, the day before Lent was as
every other day. The idea of turning
Shrove Tuesday into a fete day was bor-
rowed from the Italians, the greatest
pleasure-loving people on the globe.
The French have also borrowed not
only the holiday, but the means to make
it pass off we'll. At every corner street.
venders stand with 4 huge basket filled
with "confetti,' which they sell to the
passersby for one cent u glass. These
confetti are pieces of round colored pa
per, about the size of the caps in toy pis-
tolls. Everyone on the boulevard has
large bag on his arm, filled with the
Confetti" and, when he meets pretty
girl, he throws handful III her face If
She returns the courtesy battle gem
orally begins, and bag full of the pretty
tritleS is soon used.
Last Tuesday the sidewalks on the
boulevards were so crowded with gay
people that traffic in the street had to be
stopped. l really do not exaggerate when
| say that we waded through two inches
of 'contetti'' for distance of ten blocks,
so many had been thrown.
Besides throwing the confetti" an
other favorite politeness is TO wind ser
Dentins'' around the neck of young
lady. These ''serpentins" consist OF
yards and yards OF many colOred paper
about half an inch wide. Often they are
thrown from windows or from the top of
an omnibus.
Some men, instead Of covering one
with "confetti' or with 'serpenlns,"
had little hairbrusbes with which they
would pretend to brush one off, but in
stead they would tickle and bother the
life out OF one.
[ have mentioned only that the men
take part in these festivities, but must
add that the girls and even married
women pick out their victims and start
many merry battle.
In the daytime there were several
wagons dressed up advertising the differ
ent theaters that were to have special at
fractions in the evening. One wagon
represented frog concert, all the muSl-
clans being dressed in gorgeous green
costumes: another was concert hall ad-
vertisement, with dancing figures grace
fully grouped on the float. The side
walks were crowded with masked fig
ures-generally men rugged out in the
most ridiculous manner, although there
were many women in mems clothes and
III other fancy costumes.
While there was great deal OF liberty
and the crowd was often of the lowest
class, still they were always good -natured
and seldom went beyond the bounds Of
propriety. In talking with New Yorker
that | met, he said that if such a crowd
were to assemble in America, with the
liberty of these people allowed them,
there would be more street fights than the
police would be able to take care OF. Even
the coachmen and omnibus-drivers took
their teasing good-naturedly. The crowd
would stop their horses and hold their
wheels until the poor fellows would take
off their hats and make bow to the
public, and sometimes a speech.
The police are almost entirely done
away with on fete day, for the crowd
decidedly objects to being confronted at
every turn by guardian of the peace.
The people keep the order themselves-if
a man is too bOisterous, the bystanders
Immediately administer justice, each in
his own peculiar way.
GERTRUDE MILLER.