t to be caught by the lady for whom it
is intended. The street boys are in general, however, the greatest
winners by this polite warfare; for everything which misses its object
and falls into the street belongs to them, and that is not little....

"On Friday ... the Corso was crowded with all kinds of costumes and
masks in carriages and on foot; the windows and balconies and roofs
were thronged with dominoes and fantastic costumes; bouquets of flowers
and comfits showered down through the air.... Two rows of carriages
drive in close file along the Corso. They assaulted each other
incessantly; besides which, they threw their missiles up to the windows
and balconies, and received others in return. Sometimes a masquerading
gentleman designs to present you with an extremely beautiful bouquet;
but if you do not take great care it is quickly snatched away by some
lad, who jumps upon the step or wheel of the carriage.... Sometimes the
procession of carriages is stopped by the crush, and woe then to the
carriage or the ladies who happen to be stopped under a great balcony,
for they are then overwhelmed by such a shower of chalk and powder
comfits, which rain down upon them like hail, that the dominoes and
outer attire are spoiled! One is fortunate if one can keep one's eyes
uninjured; but a great many of the uneducated class amuse themselves by
throwing white powder into people's faces, and if this gets into the
eyes, it sometimes occasions long suffering; sometimes one receives a
great blow on the head from an immense bouquet; or a great piece of
confectionery, as hard as a stone; but any one who enters into the sport
must tolerate it--and, happen what may, people are only the more excited
and filled by the spirit of the time.... That which interested me most
was to see the handsome Roman women, in their holiday costume, standing
in open _loges_ in the lower story of the houses. They receive, with
stoical resignation, the showers of comfits and bouquets which are
incessantly aimed at their gold-adorned heads. Women of the peasant
class, dressed as if for a wedding festival, with bare heads, adorned
with red ribbon and grand ornaments, were also the principal figures in
many of the carriages....

"The streets swarmed with harlequins, punchinellos, and jesters, who
leaped about, talking to people in the carriages and on foot, inviting
to drink, pretending themselves to be intoxicated, and spilling the beer
or water on the right