ild, I ever took
kindly, was the humble one of tracing upon gritting glass, with a grating
pencil, hard outlines of coarse sketches squeezed tight against the
window-pane. After the manner in which I used to draw, I have since
sought to write; for such a picture-frame then as mine, the airy,
baseless fabric of an Italian revel is no fitting subject, and had the
Roman Carnival for 1860 been even as other carnivals are, I should have
left it unrecorded. It has been my lot, however, to witness such a
carnival as has not been seen at Rome before, and is not likely to be
seen again. In the decay of creeds and the decline of dynasties there
appear from time to time signs which, like the writing on the wall,
proclaim the coming change, and amongst these signs our past Carnival is,
if I err not, no unimportant one. While then the memory of the scene is
fresh upon me, let me seek to tell what I have seen and heard. The
question whether we were to have a Carnival at all, remained long
doubtful; the usual time for issuing the regulations had long passed, and
no edict had appeared; strange reports were spread and odd stories
circulated. Our rulers were, it seems, equally afraid of having a
carnival and not having it; and with their wonted wisdom decided on the
middle course, of having a carnival which was not a carnival at all. One
week before the first of the eight fete-days, the long-delayed edict was
posted on the walls; the festival was to be celebrated as usual, except
that no masks were to be allowed; false beards and moustaches, or any
attempt to disguise the features, were strictly forbidden. Political
allusions, or cries of any kind, were placed under the same ban; crowds
were to disperse at a moment's notice, and prompt obedience was to be
rendered to any injunction of the police. Subject to these slight
restraints, the wild revel and the joyous licence of the Carnival was to
rule unbridled. In the words of a Papal writer in the government gazette
of Venice: "The festival is to be celebrated in full vigour, except that
no masks are allowed, as the fashion for them has lately gone out. There
will be, however, disguises and fancy dresses, confetti, bouquets, races,
moccoletti, public and private balls, and, in short, every amusement of
the Carnival time." What more could be required by a happy and contented
people? Somehow, the news does not seem to be received with any
extraordinary rejoicing; a group of idlers