Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-03-13
THE MARDI GRAs BAL MAsoUE.

ia, as second-class matter. -
THE MARDI GRAS BAL MASQUE.
The Mardi Gras "bal mssque" at
Madison Square Garden on Tuesday
night was bright and shining success,
if large number of fat women in short
skirts is reckoned as an element of u
masked balls success. There we're
short and tall fat women, moderately
fat women, and very fat women, a
couple orso ofpassably goodlooking fat
women, and very great many fat wo-
men for whom ths epithet of "plain"
would have been charitable. But near
ly all of these fat women tripped about
the floor of the garden in short skirts,
and there was display of sturdily
built ankles clad in many colored stock
ings, though white was the prevailing
shade, which gave the lie to any cyni-
cal pessimist who maintains that wo-
men, as to their physique, are degen-
Grating.
OF course there were some women
there who were not fat; III fact, a cas-
ual observer would have said that all
the women who were not very fat were
very thin. but they were lost III the bill
lows of flesh that surrounded them. Be
sides the thin women seemed to be as
proud of tight kpickerbockers and
tights as their better endowed sisters
were OF short skirts, and that fact help
ed them to be lost'in the crowd, and of
49, faf
thin many of them appeared in cos
tune.
But the ball, as a ball, was not so
bad. At times it seemed really lively,
and the oldsters rubbed their eyes and
wondered if OLD times were coming
back again when, if a lady wished to
show yard or more of hosiery in the
uir, there was none to say her nay, and
if she wanted to pour a bottle OF wine
down her escorts neck no troublesome
copper would be on hand TO restrain
her. The tip was out that "everything
goes and that Acting Inspector Brooks
and Capt. Pickett were merely going to
look on. The tip was just as potent as
ever, and, although the men who did
put up their mony to see the sights saw
!. little more than they really expected
to, the tip was just as deceitful as OF
old.
The police weren't nearly as trouble
some as they might have been. Natur-
ELY when young woman in prom
inently situated box insisted upon do
ing the couchee couchee after she had
been warned a couple Of times, they
had to take action which deprived the
ball of one fits brightest lights. And
when 9 very good looking young wom-
an in street clothes insisted upon doing
the split in addition to sundry high
kicks, The ccppers seeing that she might
ruin her clothes thought it well to pre-
vent her and escorted her TO the door
with excessive courtesy. And when a
very large, corpulent woman in short
skirts insisted on trying to kick OIL
every hat in sight, The coppers'
artistic sense was offended and she
had to be escorted weeping to the door.
But very iine sense OF discrimina-
ton was exhibited by Capt. sPicketts
meu. Ifa young woman with a we'll
turned ankle ventured sly little kick
they said and did nothing. Trouble
was for the woman whom nature had
not favored The swift hand of the
law was upon her before her foot had
fairly got into the air.
The crowd was inevitable. There
was lot OF young men who wanted to
be tough, and bought wine and beer
for any woman who would accept it,
and there weren't many who didn't.
There were young men who had their
best girls there. There were q lot of
men, young aud old, who wandered in
in hope of seeing some fun. There
were about three men to every woman,
and woman without partner was
something unknown. There were some
men attired as women, and some wo-
men dressed up as men.
There was Que man who attained the
distinction of having been dancing at
the time with the only three women
that were put off the floor, and ne
seemed to have such a hypnotic in
fiuence on all those who danced with
him that they cut up the most astonish-
ing didos, making it remarkable that
more were not put out.
At last, about six o'clock, the fddlers
packed their iddles, the police cleared
the floor, and the bail was over. A
hundred or more night hawks pounced
on the dancers and carried many of
them of bodily, whether they liked
it or no. Not single word of French
was heard the whole evening.-N. 7.
Sun.
Simon S. Hartman, of Tunnelton,
West Va, has been subject to attacks
of collie abous once year, and would