The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1906-03-22
Guilty in reaching the Opera House.
Canal streets, which is headquarters

for all cars, was roped off to keep bach
, the swarming crowds, and all cars Wert
sidetracked for the time being. Hacks
and private carriages were also re
stricted, and at any rate it would have
been cheaper to buy hack than hire
Fifteen dollars was known to have
been asked for one. However. with al
most incredible facility, and possibly
some Yankee ingenuity, aided by cars
and some skillful lodging, we reached
! the Old French Opera House in the
French Quarter, which is the scene OF
all that is grand and aristocratic in the
whole city of New Orleans, and where
wealth and fashion congregate yeal
after year. The parquet had been
| hoored over on a level with the stage,
so that when the curtain rose one vast
ball room was seen. We had fine seats
i in the first gallery in tie horse shoe,
so named from its shape. 1t was
literally packed from parquet to dome
with invited guests, mostly ladies', for
| the lords of creation had to go way
back and sit down" if any of the fair
sex were minus seat. Full dress was
the unalterable rule, and the luckleSs
person who presented him or herself IN
a cutaway coat or bonnet was refused
admission, even though holding in his
hand the required bit of ornamented
pasteboard. 1t was a most brilliant
spectacle: diamonds flashed and rare
jewels sparkled from all parts OF the
! house.
Shortly before the curtain rose, the
Queen of the evening with her maids
of honor entered the first proscenlum
box on the right of the stage. Each
| hal hnn0nptS
white flowers, tied with long silver rib
bons, and AS the carefully adjusted cal
cium light was focused on the group,
the flashing jewels, the brilliant cos
tunes and beautiful flowers, made a
scene which called forth the admlra
! ton of the thousands of spectators.
In the corresponding box on the left,
| the officers of the battleship Texas, IN
| full uniform, gold lace and epaulets
! lent a charming bit of color to the
scene. But dazzling as was all this, II
was as nothing to the scene presented
when the curtain rose for the flrSt
| tableaux. There stood in two long un
! broken lines on either side the throne
reaching to the front of the stage, the
, brilliant costumerS who had been the
| life and animation on the floats
Fairies, Egyptians, Celestials from THE
| FIowery Kingdom, elves, sprites and
many nameless beings, all massed to
gether like the colors in a kaleidoscope
For a few seconds only this lasted, ano
when the curtain rose for the second
tableau the King was seen on his
| throne, awaiting the arrival of Hel
Majesty. At given signal from the
King the Committee escorted the
Queen and her attendants, each hand
somely attired to the front OF the
platform, where she was graciousIy re
ceived by the gay Cavaliers, who had
advanced to meet her and escort her tC
the King. When the triumphal march
! to the throne ended, during which she
was greeted with hearty applause from
all parts of the vast building, then
majesties assembled the throne, the
pages adjusted the long court trans tC
| the best advantage, the strong calcium
| light was again focused upon the roya
pair showing the smallest detail OF
/ their beautiful costumes as they re
/ ceived the homage of their SUBJECTS
| The Queens costume was rich white
| silk heavily embroidered in gold; the
| long mantle or court train was of silver
! cloth, trimmed with chiffon. A hand
| some jewelled crown of silver, dia
!
| tune. She wore her hOnors very grace
fully and looked ''every inch Queen. v
| EVERYTHING was in silver to mark the
twenty fifth anniversary of the reign
of Proteus. The throne was of silver,
| set in a fairy garden of beautiful plants
and flowers Around the sides trellises
supported vines and climbing roses,
while from overhead hung rich clusters
| of rare flowers from which cleaned
countless colored lights, The rich cos
tunes worn by the maskers completed
! the beauty of this ideal scene
After this reception of the Queen and
her maids by the King and the maskers,
] the ball was formally opened ana the
dancing began. | never witnessed any
! thing SO beautiful. 1t was a kaledC-
SCOPE view; all colors of the rainbow
mingled together set with diamonds,
pearls and other precious stones; the
/ shimmering silks and gauZy fabrics OF
! the ladies'. and the silken duubets,
knee breeches, silk stockings, jeWelled
slippers, with the cavalier hats and
4 dropping plumes of the courters, made
/ a scene hard to describe. Occasionally
a Celestial with his long plgtall and
dreamy eyes was seen, and III texture
.JOhnnles costume was not interior to
/ that of the gay cavalier Could these
! brave men and fair women have been
seen in the stately mnuet and majestic
| lancers how beautiful it might have
been, but the entire program of twenty
four dances was an alternate waltz and
! the limping, hobbling tWo-step, which
seems to have been fashioned expressly
! for those unfortunates who have
neither music nor grace in their physi-
cal makeup May the two-step soon
pass from memory. We came away at
comparatively early hour, well
pleased with our Carnival ball.
Mardi Gras passed as do such days
generally, filled with fun and frolic from
sunrise to sunset. How 50 much gen.
uine merriment and energy can be com
pressed into so few short hours is al
most incomprehensibe. Everybody
has a good time, and the utmost good
nature prevails. OF course every yeal
furnishes new participants, but the new
take up the link where the old drop it,
and the break is not noticed. 1t was
said more grown participated in
the general hilarity than usual. No
burlesque paradeS or advertising vans
are allowed on the streets where the
pageants are to pass, during the time
of the parade, but they lose no time in
putting in an appearance when the OPP
| nartunitv offers and they are a great