The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-13
Mi-Careme Carnival in Pari.c
Men, Women and Children Battle in the
Streets With Confetti as Ammunition y - y y -

smiles, these round-eyed, gay-lipped mai
dens, these Wee tangle-haired children.
VINO chuckle so contagiously as they fire
ana cry out SO delightfully."- when the
charge goes home
For the most part, these are running
nGhlS, you Snlpe the enemy and pass, or
re snlpes You. Lut every now and again
the stroller sees a face coming toward him
IN the crowd, ard in the first interchange
CT SfanceS he knows a duel is on In such
encounters man is always worsted AT
cioS9 range the hoary iibels about a
glrI $ lnaccuracy of aim lose their valid
1ly; besides, she is helped by her sisters
But even in defeat the Vanuuished reflects
mat there is glory enough for all There
IS most satisfaction, however is subtlety
IN asking hostile intent behind an in
dIHerent countenance as you see the enc
my approaching and then Just as YOU
pass, delivering a sudden Yolley. Some
times one finds the same tactics await ing
Elm and watchful spirit :stgsid1ng
sauelly on guard behind a face demurelY
doWncast and there the mutual surprise
is the jollieSt of all.
In the weaving of the crowd one or two
races are met again ard again until the
sense OF recognition, under the rose or
M1-Careme. gives a zest to the sense of
combat. Sometimes the stroller will hear
a swift step behind him and little
laugh, and he will turn in time perhapS
to receive a binding shower of confetti
full in the face and discern the trium-
phant backward glance of eyes he has
met before.
There is one little girl with great black
eyes and clear dark skin whom YOU re-
member. AS you passed her before you
shoWcred casual handful of scarlet
confetti over her, and the wondering look
IN her deep eyes gave way slowly to a
naive little smile. She stands on the
curb at the same spot when you return,
and the bright look with which she
gfeets you reminds you of the previous
encounter. Just then another process
sion passes and childlike she crowds into
the roadway, only to find her view bIan-
( keted by her elders. Is that an appeal
IN her eyes? At any rate she puts up her
arms when you hold yours and she slips
one arm confdingly around your neck
When you swing her on your shoulder;
the queen of the Rue Gauche" gives her
a salute all to herself as she rides past In
that gorgeous chariot. Merc monsieur
the child says simply when you set her
down, but as you move away along that
golden boulevard toward the bridges her
eyes follow you out Of sight
1t has been wild evening on the bou-
ieyards, with the shops agleam and the
SQUARES aglow, and overhead in the won
derful sky of Paris the throbbing multi
tudes. La mutt porte conseil' runs the
proverb Not so the night of Mi-careme
Reflection comcth afterwards long WAYS
aftefWard; an unbidden and unweicene
guest 1t must be in carnival time. So at
any rate maintain the Rohemians whom
the midnight hour finds hocking into the
Bal Butler.
INV tHe Dbl buillSf IS q student rem
devious, and to see it upon carnival night
Is, 70, see the student world of Paris in its
choicest moments of relaxation NOBODY
could mistake these lads for anything ont
students. With their brave hair their
first boards and mustachas, their iincouth
hats and bagSy breeks and withal their
gentle bearing and finely critical air, tney
embody the enthusiasm the egotism the
Illusions of cultivated youth. Indulgentfv
they look upon the merrymaking its
points OF rest rather than of activity
Under their gaze, and, as you think
under their influence, the festival takes
on its subtler phases. Through its or
deren courses move the age-old figures
Of tbs carnival, Pierrct and Pierrette.
ana thelr motley companions with their
passionate eyes and their white passion
less faces All the grotesquerie Of tho
Middle Ages, their mirth and their mad
ness-the quick sigh under the mirth and
inc meaning under the madness-aro
hlnted IN these strange figures weaving
swiftly Or slowly in and cut Of the
-dances. 1t IS not inconsistent with the
INCONSISTENCIES of existence which they
embody that with them there shouli
mlngie the figures of every age and cline
Venetian coGrtiers, bXom Dutch maid
ems a Greek god or TWO girls attired as
butcher boys, as maitres d'armes. as
teoreadors, and strangesl Of all, silent
inquire CARRIED as an iYy-clad ruin re-
ninder that time is ana that time was
Unconsciously the note OF sadness is
stealing into the swoons of the music. Or
IS Il the WEAKNESS of the Aour or the
dawn of disiHusion? It is time to de-
part tomorrow will be another day
And it is tomorrow already