The Indianapolis journal., 1896-12-27
A NIGHT in BALTIMORE
CHRISTMAS EVE TURNED INTO
HORxBLOWERs CARNIVAL.
Delirious and LiI< C
Welcome Extended by All Ages to
Good Old Father Christmas.-
Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Sun
1t began with an early boisterousness and
continued to late and rollicking pande-
monium-that delirious annual welcome ex-
tended to good Father Christmas. which.
for lack OF a better name, is known as
the Lexington-street Carnival and which
last night. as usual. preceded the arrival
of the rosy old gentleman.
For hours mass of merry makers, armed
with every conceivable instrument capable
of producing ear-splitting. inharmonious
sound, poured into this thoroughfare from
Charles street to Eutaw street, surging
backward and forward in impenetrable
waves of humanity that overflowed the
sidewalks and filled the street, to the block
ing of electric railway traffic.
And such motley assortment as il wasi
The omnipresent small boy, the pretty
young lady with rosy cheeks made ruddy
by the keen atmosphere and exertion ex-
pended upon wind instruments of torture
the young men from the universities of ma
tional fame and colleges locally prominent,
business men of ordinarily staid deport-
ment, elderly gentlemen notoriously digni-
fed, ladies past the first bloom of youth
and all footing, rafting. shouting. hurrah-
ing, shrieking, laughing and contributing
their enthusiastic and assiduous efforts TO
swell the din TO one vast paean of hilarious
noise.
Few were in bad temper. Nearly every
body was in a state of ecstatic happiness,
pausing only in their labors to exchange
greetings with everybody else, the formality
of an Introduction for the nonce being
waived, or to laugh at the eccentricities
and comicalities of their neighbors
Mp n
OF course. the horn blowers were in great
majority. There were players of little "tu-
penny affairs proud performers upon i'm
mense tin instruments that produced
sounds of agonizing volume, mtigated only
by their ludicrous tones. But king of all
was monster horn about fifteen feet long
carried on a throne of state composed OF
the shoulders of score of young fellows
who hammered it vigorously with smaller
horns with incessant rhythms and lifted
their voices in song. The combined vocal
efforts would undoubtedly have proved a
philharmonic success OF the carnival. only
each of the songsters sang a different tune
and with a sumblime Indifference to con-
fiicting keys.
In union there is strength. and the pres
ence of so many performers the horn
at once suggested the result to be obtained
by uniting forces. So several Orchestras
that was astonishing. Up and down the
bands paraded, some numbering n modest
score. others reaching the formidable figure
of two hundred and more. and as they
marched they swept all before them.
There were a few struggling bands-mere
itinerants-but strange TO say, these COM
binatiOrs attracted much attention as
the monster organization. Perhaps this in
terest was due to the fact that the latter
were mostly composed of the prettiest of
young ladies. who intermingled with the
blare of their instruments the sweet and
welcome music of their laughter.
Next mixed bands were thought of, and
loi the ranks of the horn blowers were aug
mented by dozens of musicians supplied
with that orchestral necessity, the rattle.
pined for. 'Rattle-ta-rat! rattle-ta-ra
and into the sething crOwding. piunging
crowd a. fully equipped drum corps. whose
Instruments We're fine tin bread pans, ham,
mered with potato-mashers These mu-
sicians were in uniform. the chief article of
which was enormously high hats made of
pasteboard.
AS the night waned other features beside
the music appeared i'm force: The yellow
Kid and a youthful Pantaloon, a dimin-
utive policeman. with blue and red shirt,
and fiercely bewhiskered infants Joined the
seated one of their fellows astride of rail
and. semi-encased in half of a barrel and
mounting him on their broad. young
shoulders, conveyed him from one end of
the street to the other until weary of the
exercise. Two handsome little girls and a
stalwart youth next appeared, entwined in
PENALTY OF SHOWING"
On the sidewalks. owing to the crowdng
there were some tumbles and scrambles,
and as the result of one of these incidents
two young men detected in the act of
showing were escorted to the Central po-
lice station. AS the officers led them away
nearly one thousand of the merrymakers
formed into line behind them an escort.
Some of the college boys. erstwhile men,
bers Of the horn orchestra, took up the
nournful air that was formerly played
when offenders were drummed out of mill
tary camps. Others laid aside the horn
and sung the words accompanying the air,
which runs:
Poor old soldier poor old soldier.
Tarred and feathered and sent to =,
Cause he couldn't play soldier we'll.
But at the corner of Charles and Lexing-
ton tSe of the 10
Cowbels that had appeared at infrequent
intervals next attracted most of the atten-
with this melodious instrument marched
through the streets. vigorously shaking the
bell or dra agging it by a string over the sur
face of the street. Many of these musi-
clans were attired i'm paper ''stovepipe"
hats and wore buttonhole bouquets of a
Heavy details of police from the Central
and Western stations lined the street. in
charge of Captains Gilbert and Cadwallader.
and prevented any serious encounters be-
tween opposing factions of the merrymak-
ers. There were a few arrests made where
the conduct was overboisterOus but in most
troublesome incidents the culprits were
merely removed from the throng and ad-
monished to desist. and in more fragrant
cases commanded to leave the street.
A droll feature of the carnival to an on
locker was the conduct of those who came
merely to scoff or sneer. They looked
with contempt for brief while. then with
an expression of sufferance. next interest
and in most instances the finale the
scoffer hurrying off 10 the nearest vender
of horns and rattles TO procure stock and
Join in the fun.
THE GYMNASTICS OF REST.