The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-04-10

bracelets, enameled pins or perhaps
even their wands or satin nantes. The
jewels they give are no limitations eth
er and daylight does not reveal the
satin to be only a sham. 1t is all real.
The fayors are solid gold and the
satins and velvets are as fine as money
can BUY, so it is little wonder thai the
maid waits With beating heart her first
cal! out that brings not only the
JOY Of dancing with a mystical Interest,"
Ing stranger. but a shower OF trophies
worth treaSuring as we'll.
Each ball has its own king. queen
and maids. the latter being chosen from
the young women of New Orleans and
their visiting friends. and differ only
IN g~orseousness. stage settings and
tableaus.
The Mithras ball which followed tho
Falstatfian represented the adventures
OF La Sid" II part of the court were
masked as dark skinned foreigners,
while Oberon was the Land of Hearts
Desire where no wish went u%ngranted
and all one dreamed Of came to pass.
The larger balls have no tableaus.
but the costumes are more magnificent
ana the favors lovelier. Comus. the
n ale o. all. Is III meeting place Of
two courts for Rex, the carnival king,
and his radiant queen with their train
OF ~tendant leave their own ball to
pay a visit to this more exclusive one.
Rex himself must have behind him
q good sized bank account for the story
goes That to be a king Of the Mardi
Gras costs a man close to $40, 900. while
g rich father Is one Of the necessities
ina must come with a queen for her
gown alone costs from $500 to $4,000.
Procession Of Menus.
But though visitors may not always
be able to view the splendors of the
Dalls. the parades themselves are worth
coming hundreds OF miles to see. On
the thursday night before Mardt Graa
the parade of Momus is given. No
more wonderful pageants ever passed
through city streets than those begin
ming on that night this year. The IT
floats following close upon the kings
chariot represented Aesop's Fables and
no slightest detail was lacking In maxi
ing eacn one as beautiful as money
n art could conceive. The krewe Of
Proteus. composed OF 20 floats, the SUBJ
Jects of which, taken from Edwin Arm
old's Light Of ASIA" glittered with all
the splendor OF the far East. Tropical
Jungles breathed with the very atmos-
phere OF exotic blooms and queer wild
beasts were carried past on wheels in
such a way hat one forgot the soil
OF an American city lay under his feet
and dreamed that he had been whisked
on TO that strange country that to most
OF US Is little more than a myth. The
grand daylight parade on MardI Gras
day, when Rex passes through the
streets and stops to pay his aspects to
MS queen who waits his coming on the
gailery OF a Canal street club house,
this year had for the subject Of its
noats The Classics Of Childhood"
Anderson's fairy tales. Alice in
Wonderland," Gulliver's Travels"
ARABIAN Nights. J" even the beloved
Brownies themselves. their heads peek
ing out of a great drift Of snow. were
brought out EXPLANATIONS of delight
from old as well as young, while from
every float handsful OF fancy colored
beads and trinkets Of all kinds were
thrown into the streets to be caught
and claimed by the crowd.
Yet while the splendor Of all this
Wondrous spectacle Is unlike anything
one ever sees elsewhere 1t is the crowd
itself that makes the carnival what Il
is. The people of New Orleans are
brought up to appreciate the spirit OF
the Mardl Gras from the time they are
children. They are mad to understand
that 1t Is time for only good-natured
merriment. In all the throngs that
block the streets and avenues until II
Ia impossible TO move except as the
crowd Itself move there is no sign of
the rough or unruly element. The pass.
ersby joke with one another as though
they We're all one big family. and even
the street maskers are grotesque:y
funny. furnishing amusement from
early morning until the midnight bell
proclalms TO the tired crowd that the
season of gayety Is over and the hour
sS1s come Tor Tasting u brave