The herald., 1897-04-25
fFrom Mednesday,s Herald

Her majesty, the Queen of Fiesta, has
come into her own again, and her faith
full subjects are happy.
Endowed with life perennial, she ap-
pears each year on her annual visitation
to her southern realm, in different guise,
but ever as sweet and gracious woman.
Last night the faithful Angelenos and
their friends in unstinted numbers from
the surrounding counties, crowded to the
payDiion, where they crowned her with
loyal thoughts and loving shouts OF ap-
proval. For the maiden queen reigns
not according to the old-time formula,
but by the grace of the people-Vox Pop
uli, vox Del
And what a scene 1t was! In fancy
one was carried back to the days OF
Louis XIV, when gayety ran riot and
La vailiere was the cynosure of all eyes.
For there were dresses splendid. but fan
tastical,
Masks of all times and nations, Turks and
Jews,
And harlequins and clowns with 1eats
gymnastical,
Greeks, Romans, Yankee Doodles and
Hindoos;
All kinds of dress except the ecclesiastical"
While looking down upon the beautiful
picture-upon Queen Francisco en-
throned and surrounded by her court,
upon the bright uniforms of the Queens
Lancers, as they lined each side of the
ballroom, and upon the mulitudinous
array Of graceful, gay, quaint and fan
tastic and oddly incongruous costumes
of the invited guests-one's thoughts in .
voluntarily flew back to the early days
when, disguised as fauns and satyrs, the
Greek or the Roman made merry. or tc
the magnificent masque given by
Messalina of infamous memory, in hon.
or of her marriage with Silius, while her
husband, Claudius, was not far away.
And then to the time when the church
issued edicts against the fascinating
masquerade, while permitting sacred
masques, such as the dance of death.
when skeletons danced with the living
q kind of ghostly fandango.
But more truly was the bal masque
last night reminiscent of the days when
It was a favorite amusement at the gall
liant court of Valois, and under Louis
XIII and Louis XIV, when they were
given on a scale of great magnificance.
Then it was that the king used to take
part in the principal dance with La Val
liere, under the very eyes of the queen.
for the incognito of the mask was in
violable.
Then the oddities of the masque in
those not too remote times! In carnival
time it was customary, when anyone
gave a masked ball, for the entrance
door to be left open for any mask, and
this usage led to some strange liberties
An example is an adventure in which
Louis XIV, Louvois and Mile. de Mont
pensier took part, and which is record
ed in the journal des advertisements
Secrets de la Coeur de Louis XIV"
"Apropos of the free entry to the ball
in carnival time. l remember an incident
that happened to the king at the house of
M lie President N, who was giving a
ball in the Rue des Blancs- Manteaux
on the occasion Of the marriage of one of
his sons. (This was about 1879 The
king, who was sometimes pleased to visit
a ball incognito, presented himself at
that of the President de N, accompa-
MED by three carriage loads of ladies
and gentlemen of the court. The whole
party were enveloped in grey cloaks, so
that they could not be recognized. But
the porters, who had orders only to ad-
NIT those who showed their cards of in
vitation refused admittance to the kings
DdIQ, dllHOuSA IL was all HOuT alter
midnight. Upon the refusal the king or
dered fire to be set to the door, and
straightway his servants went off to
fetch fagots from the nearest shop
These they piled up against the great
door and lighted with their torches.
"The porters, terrified al this boldness,
fastened off to inform NJ. de N, who
straightway ordered the porters to throw
open all the doors, suspecting that
these must be persons of the first quail
fly, who ventured upon such rash be-
havior. The whole company entered the
court yard, and dozen masks magnifi-
Gently got up, appeared in the ball
room, together with a crowd of masked
griffons, each holding sword in one
hand and a torch in the other. The
whole assembly was filed with admira-
tion.
IN. Louvois. who belonged to the
kings troop, took NJ. de N apart, and
having unmasked told him that he was
the least parsonage in the company. This
was enough to compel NJ. de N to make
reparation for his mistake. He caused
great basins of sweetmeatst to be brought
into the ball room; but Mile. de Mont
pensier, who was dancing at the time,
gave one of the basins kick, which sent
1t flying into the air. This action fright
ened M. de N, but the trouble went no
further, thanks to the prudence of the
king, who Gained the resentment of the
princes and princesses over the refusal
of admittance. Ultimately they de-
parted without letting themselves be
krown, after having danced as much as
they pleased
1.-The next day the story was told at the
dinner table of the king and queen dow
ager by some persons who did not know
who were the actors in the episode. The
king and queen expressed approval at
the action of the masks, saying that,
after midnight, masked ball should be
open to all masks. in carnival time. If
a man did not wish to take the chances,
he should not give such balls"
Isn't that delicious? Imagine the pres
ident of the United Status, with the
members of his cabinet and their wives
starting out and, on the mere pretense
of 1t being carnival time, setting on fire
the door of a magistrate in order to in
trude upon the privacy of a citizen. But
q change came. During the French rev.
o;ution the balls masques were suppress
ed on the reasonable grounds that masks
ard travesties were incompatible with
the dignity of man. During that stormy
time everything, hideous or otherwise
was done in the name of reason. At the
fall of the government however fhe T2al