The herald., 1897-02-28

her pavilion-cloth of gold tissue DER
picturing that Venus where we see the
fancy out-work nature"
At the helm Mermaids; all her gen.
tlewomen like the Mercedes; around her
slaves. The barge is a blaze of mag
nificent color surrounded by papyrus
and water plants.
LAUREL.
The laurel with which the Greeks
crowned the victor in the Pythian games
and which they believed communicated
the spirit of prophecy and poetry, Is
shown in this float. A Greek temple
severely classical, is surrounded by cy-
press trees; before it group of ath-
letes returning from the games, before
Greek pedestal burn the sacred fires,
and the whole float, surrounded by lau-
rel leaves, is most effectively classical.
LADY SLIPPER.
A scene from the fairy tale, Cinderel-
la, Is here portrayed. A throne under
silken canopy, Cinderella receiving the
slipper from the prince; heralds in the
foreground playing fanfare of trum-
pets; lady slippers blossoming in pro-
fusion at the base of the float, all give
effective detail to the charming legend.
THE SNAPDRAGON.
| This flower Is symboliZed by the great
dragon, the sea monster Killed by Per-
seus, the gorgon slayer, in rescuing
Andromeda whom Cepheus chained to
| the rock to appease the deitee.
| The float is simply a huge dragon
| twenty feet in length with extended
wings fifteen feet wide The dragon is
walking over the rocks in pursuit of
Andromeda, her face hid, her tresaes
af1oat in the water. Perseus is in the
act of Staying the monster The dragon,
in green and blue lights, with purple
| scales, is very realistic.
| THE SEA FAN.
| This is a submarine scene full of sea
effects. Neptune Ile ruler of the deep.
with trident In hand. sits upon a throne
of pink and white coral. Two mermaids
| rec1ine upon a wreck below. the sur
| face of the water near them a sunken
chest is scattering gold and Jewels upon
| the bottom Of the sea, while coral sea
| fan, kelp, shells and other sea plants
| are in full motion. The whole float is
| supposed to be under water and the
night effects add greatly to it's beauty.
GOLD OF OPHIR.
In this float is presented a page from
Rider Haggard's She" the critical mo-
ment when Holly and Leo discovered
| the Witch's head. The float itself is the
Ethiopian head with thick lips, terri
| flying eyes and heavy cheeks.
Poetic license is taken with the story
for the spectacular effects, for "She"
| "PPCoiS Ol tie IUCh, III snowy TODoS,
sandaled feet, hair of raven blackness
and face of unearthly beauty.
Peering over the rock she gazes at the
| two men below in the boat In the
foreground are the hot pots molten,
and full of red fires that light up the
scene with 'wierd and hellish flames.
The hideous head is not malignant but
full of hopelessness in It's expression.
Gold OF Ophtr roses form the base of the
float.
| HOLLY
The Christmas holly is represented by
an Arctic Tcene, the home of Santa
Claus. Ths good saint is preparing his
| sledge and reindeer for his Christmas
mission. An immense iceberg is at one
end of the float, which is spanned by
the aurora borealis, resplendant in rose,
gold and silver and rainbow -hued lights.
The reflection of the aurora in the wat
ard the icebergs gives play for night
efects of wonderful color. The base of
he float is in holly leaves.
MARGUERITE
The dainty marguerite is typified by
a scene from Goethe's Faust, that poem
Of beauty which gives complete reflec-
ton of the innermost feelings Of the Ger
man people. -. ~
The scene presents Dutch building,
with Marguerite in the garden. in her
| HaHu sHe HoiuS tHe caSKet or gems.
| Faust and Mephistopheles are hiding in
the foliage. The gable of the house,
with its diamond panes. glimmers in the
moonlight. Honeysuckle creeps over
the porches A bed of marguerites
blossoms at the base of the float.
POND LILY.
A scene from Iolanthe is pictured in
this float. A. water scene of fairy mag
nifcence. Out of an enormous pond
lily rises Iolanthe after her twenty
years Imprisonment. Around her are
grouped the earl of Tollaller, Phyllis. the
lord chancellor and Strephon. Upon a
rock Is enthroned the queen of the fairies
holding her wand and awakening To-
lanthe from her lily bed. Conventual-
lied lilies form thebase of this float.
CACTUS.
The cactus Is symbolized in a scene
| from Mexico, in which Monf>zuma Is
being carried to the great temple by six
men. He is attended by his guards.
The great temple is encrusted with
stucco, richly sculptured. A fetch is
seen upon the side of the temple. In the
center of the float is the sacrificial stone,
with figures carved upon it. This float
is colored with pigment of primary COL
ors and the crude red and blues are used
in the historical pattern.
This closed the series of sixteen floats,
the motif of which is thus carried out in
THE Legend of the Flowers"
THE ARTISTS
The floats are being constructed by
the Robinson brothers, we'll known in
Los Angeles, as they have been employ
ed on the official floats for the Fiestas
preceding this of 1897. The Robinson
brothers, three in number, are all scenic
artists, and have followed their profess
sion for many years.. Messrs. Fawcett,
James and AL Robinson together have
evolved many beautiful floats for differ
ent fetes on both continents The chief
artist and worker is Fawcett the eldest
of the trio, who was for two seasons in
Drury Lane theater, London; also In
| Porte Saint Martin, Paris, and in the
lord mayors show, London. In Chica-
go he was under engagement to the XII
rally brothers the Chicago opera house
and the Priests of Pallas' parade.
Since the work of the Robinson broth
ers in los Angeles last year they have
all been engaged in the east Fawcett
in the Festival of the Mountain and
Plain" Denver; James at Kansas City,
in the priests of Pallas" parade, and
AL in Mobile, in "The Ancient Order of
Myths
To each of these points the fame of
the Los Angeles dragc> had spread, and
a feature of each festival was an i'm
mense dragon designed by each of the
Robinson brothers for the occasion. Mr..
Fawcett Robinson says the Los Angeles
Fiesta is topic of much interest in the
east, and cbe the public seems to be
thoroughly informed upon owing to our