uch a thing seen as a list of the amounts donated.

There are not lacking people who say that these celebrations are
childish, and beneath the dignity of a business community. The answer to
criticisms of this kind is, that no one being asked to contribute to the
expense of the revelries, or being even asked or allowed to purchase a
ticket of admission to the balls, any criticisms are very much like
looking a gift horse in the mouth. If it be agreed that life is made up
of something more than one stern, continuous race for wealth, then it
must be conceded that these carnivals occupy a most important part in
the routine of life. The absolute unselfishness of the entire work
commends it to the approval of the most indifferent. Those who raise the
expense have to work so hard during the parades and balls that they get
comparatively little pleasure from them, while they are also prevented
by the absolute secrecy which prevails from securing so much as a word
of thanks or congratulation from the outside public. In this material
age, there is a danger of celebrations of this kind wearing themselves
out. When they do so, the world will be the poorer in consequence.

New Orleans, to which we have referred as the great home of the Creole
carnival, is a city known the world over by reputation. It is situated
at the very mouth of the great Mississippi River, and its history dates
back to the year 1542, when a gallant band of adventurers floated down
the river into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1682, La Salle sailed down the
river and took possession of the country on both sides of it in the name
of France. In the closing days of the Seventeenth Century a French
expedition landed not far from New Orleans, which was founded in 1718,
with a population of sixty-eight souls. Three years later, the city,
which now contains a population of more than a quarter of a million, was
made the capital of the Territory of Louisiana, and it at once became a
place of considerable importance.

In 1764, it was ceded to Spain, and this resulted in the people taking
possession of New Orleans and resisting the change in government. Five
years later, the new Spanish Governor arrived with ample troops,
suppressed the rebellion, and executed its leaders from the Place
d'Armes. In 1804, the territory of Orleans was established, and in 1814,
a British army, 15,000 strong, advanced on the city after which the
Territory was named. A great deal of confusion followed,