often alone together. Sometimes he would accuse herof furious flirtation, but always with a good-humoured amused air,without any sign of jealousy in his manner. Truth to tell, he feltsatisfaction that she should be the most universally admired girl inNice. He remembered that her success was due to him, for had he notpaid for the costly costumes and milliner's marvels which suited herbeauty so well?
The bright cloudless days passed, full of frivolity. The King ofFolly's reign was short, therefore the excitement while it lasted waskept up at fever-heat, the grand climax of the many festivities beingreached by the Corso Carnavalesque and Battle of Confetti which tookplace on Sunday, ten days after the gigantic effigy of the Monarch ofMirth had been enthroned on the Place Massena in his Moorish pavilion ofrose and gold.
All the paper confetti conflicts, pretty and vigorous as they had been,were but preliminary scrimmages to the genuine battle fought withpellets of grey chalk, veritable bullets. So hard are these that it isunsafe to venture out without a wire mask, therefore Zertho and Liane,in assuming their costumes that afternoon, did not neglect theprecaution. Zertho wore the white dress of a pierrot; with large velvetbuttons of pale rose; while Liane, in a domino of pale rose satintrimmed with red--the colours of that season--wore a clown's hat ofrose. Both carried, strapped across their shoulders, capacious bagscontaining confetti, and a small tin scoop with which to throw theirmissiles. The mask of fine wire, like those used in fencing schools,having been assumed, they both entered the victoria and were driven downto the Jardin Public through which the Carnival procession, headed bythe King himself, pipe in mouth, astride the turkey-cock, was at thatmoment wending its way.
The gun from the old Chateau had a few minutes before boomed forth thesignal for the opening of hostilities, and the thousands of revellers onfoot and in carriages, all wearing masks and dominoes, were carrying ona fierce and relentless combat. Alighting, Liane and her companionplunged into the rollicking riot, pelting the onlookers who wereunmasked or who wore no dominoes, covering dark coats and dresses withgreat white dust-spots, and compelling the unfortunate ones to cry forquarter. On this, the maddest day of Folly's reign, Nice, from twoo'clock until five, presented the appearance of a town run mad with fun.Every balcony, decorated with red and rose, was filled with spectatorslaughing at the antics of the armoured, quaintly-dressed throng; thetimorous, taking refuge behind closed windows, peered curiously out uponthe wild conflict, while some, more brave than others, ventured out intothe thick of the fray with no further protection than the black velvethalf-mask. Woe betide these, however, when detected. Wire masks werethe only safeguard from the showers of bullets which everywhere wereprojected from the small tin scoops.
Joining in the Corso were many carriages decked out to correspond withtheir occupants' costumes, many in the carnival colours, one in purewhite, another in a mauve, and a third, belonging presumably to apolitical enthusiast, in the Russian colours, orange and black.Everywhere were scenes of wild and reckless gaiety. In the sidestreets, in the open squares, in the cafes, on every side confetti wasthrown. The garcons de cafe, compelled to stand amid the continuouscross-fire that swept across the streets, had all assumed masks, and theroads and pavements soon became an inch deep in confetti trodden todust.
All along the line of the procession and in the thick of the fight bagsof ammunition were offered by men, women or boys, who stood besidestalls or, mingling with the crowd, cried "_Bonbon; Bonbon_!" As Zerthoand Liane walked together, pelting vigorously at a carriage containingthree of their friends, an urchin came up to them crying, "_Bonbon_!"whereupon Liane, with a mischievous laugh, threw a handful of confettistraight at the crier, much to the urchin's discouragement.
"Come, let us follow the procession," Zertho suggested, and across thePlace Massena they accompanied the corso, and down the gay streets untilthey entered the Place de la Prefecture, where the fun was at itsheight. The scene here presented was exceedingly picturesque. Theband, which was really a band, and not merely a medley of ear-splitting,discordant noise which too frequently mars the Carnival, was the centreof attraction around which the maskers danced with wild abandon, joininghands and screaming with laughter. Liane, infected by the mad gaietyand as reckless as the rest, her domino whitened by the showers ofconfetti rained every moment upon it, plunged into the crowd of dancersand, hand-in-hand with Zertho, whirled round, laughing gleefully. Thedancers made a human kaleidoscope of colour, framed by theamphitheatre-like tribunes, which were likewise filled with maskers, andmade a setting as bright, and but one degree less animated, than therollicking, ever-moving foreground.
From minute to minute the animation increased. Every street was aglowwith colour, and the melee was general. Those seated in the tribunesmade furious attacks upon those on foot, the latter retaliating withshower upon shower of pellets, until the battle became fierce in everyquarter. Four occupants of a victoria, attired alike in pale bluedominoes, opened a vigorous fire upon Liane and Zertho as they passed,and received in return many scoopfuls of well-aimed confetti. But thepair were decidedly getting the worst of it, when suddenly a lithelittle man in clown's dress of cheap lustrine joined Liane in thedefence, and next instant received a handful of confetti full in hisface. For an instant he felt in his pouch, but found his ammunition hadgiven out. Then espying a stall a few yards away he rushed across withsudden impulse, flung down a couple of francs, caught up four largepaper bags each containing several pounds of confetti, and flung themone after another at Liane's assailants. They were aimed with a surehand, and as each struck the head or shoulders of one or other of theunfortunate occupants, the thin paper broke, completely smothering themwith its contents. Yells of uproarious laughter arose at theirdiscomfiture, and the coachman hastened his horses' speed.
Then turning to Liane, the man, evidently an honest, happy-heartedNicois from his Italian accent, bowed gracefully, and with a smilesaid,--"Mademoiselle, I believe we have taught them a lesson." Beforeshe could thank him he was lost in the turbulent, laughing crowd.
And as Zertho passed gaily along at Liane's side, he sang softly tohimself the refrain of "L'Amoureuse,"--the slightly risky parody,popular at that moment,--
"Voila l'amoureuse, A la demarch' voluptueuse, Qui se pavan' soir et matin, Avec des airs de p'tit trottin; Voila l'amoureuse, A la demarch' voluptueuse, Elle est joli' sacre matin! Joli' comme un petit trottin!"
Gradually they fought their way back to the Place Massena, and found ita scene of brilliant colour, but the fight had now become so generalthat the very heavens seemed obscured by the confetti, which, onstriking, crumbled into dense clouds of fine, white dust. The fanfaresof the Chasseurs Alpins were sounding, the great effigy of the King wasslowly moving across towards the leafy public garden, and the colossalfigure of an ingenue was sailing along with the crowd with folded arms,perfectly pleased with herself and the Carnival world in general.Everyone here wore the wire mask and domino, even the vendors ofconfetti being compelled to assume grilles to protect their sun-tannedfaces from their own wares.
The Carnival contagion had now spread to even the puppets and musiciansthemselves; for these left their lofty perches on the cars where theyhad been observed by all during the processions, and descending toearth, whirled among that motley crowd of dancers and of forms gigantic,gay and grotesque.
Although conflict and retaliation were the order of the day, anddisorder the spirit supreme, to the credit of Nice and her crowds be itsaid that on such a day, when so many liberties were possible, were sofew taken. The Mayor had caused a precautionary notice to be posted up,prohibiting any confetti being thrown at the police, gendarmes, ormusicians, but even the gendarmes, usually an awe-inspiring, spick andspan body, when threatened in fun, would reply, "Fire away, your bulletsdon't hurt," and laughing defiance, would receive volley upon volley ofthe dusty pellets upon their dark uniforms without flinching, and laughback defiantly.
Clowns, punchinelli, pierrots, furies, devils and ladies in dom
inoesfought with one another till every street in the neighbourhood of theAvenue de la Gare was swept from end to end by a hail of confetti, andZertho and Liane trudged on through the thick dust into which it wasevery moment being trodden. Long "serpentines" of coloured paper, flungnow and then, wrapped themselves about the lamp-posts and hung fromwindows and from the tall eucalypti, while from some of the houses themore enterprising showered upon the crowd thousands of small,advertising hand-bills. Those who, growing weary of the fight as thesun declined, sought shelter in the cafes, were quickly disillusioned,for from time to time disconcerting showers of pellets would sweep in atthe open door, often falling into the bocks, mazagrans, and sirops, sothat those who had had previous experience of Carnival ways sat withtheir wire vizors still down and their hands carefully covering