A MELBOURNE GIRL AT NICE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6502, 3 June 1899, Page 3

A MELBOURNE GIRL AT NICE.

PELTED WITH CONFETTI; (Australasian.) :""'■' On a Sunday in March we thought* we should go for a bicycle ride, so we set off to see how far we could get along the road to Cannes from Nice. For the first mile or so after you leave the Promenade desAnglais, which is a glorified Beaconsfieklparade, the road is bumpy, but from that on it is hard, smooth, and white. Coming to a corner, we heard shouts' of '.distant cheering. The read was ... fitted, with, .traps of all kinds, and people, s^aiidmg up in them, shouting and screa.Tcdng.TSey were on the racecourse, and we were just in time .to see a .finish. The little course is the ' Flemingtori of Nice. "■' . . Our ride wonW have been perfect were it not for' 1 ' the 'automobiles: ; '• They ." tear along at a frightful rate ; you hear a warning squeak, something dashes past, arid next Tninut© you aj-e choking in ckmds of dust. When you have recovered you see an automobile away in the far past, and another coming in the painfully near future. So on, every five minutes of yoarjourney. After twelve miles of this we arrived at Antibes, a village where the- English tourist is unknown. We stopped at a cafe on the outskirts of the town, and ordered teas. Presently a man came in, covered with confetti ; so we called the waiter, w&o told us it was Mi-Careme, which it certainly wasn't, being Passion Sunday. We let that pass, and when he stated ■ that the Battle of Confetti was still on we drank out tea and spun down the street. We had seen a battle of flowers in Rice, and found it a solemn function, goi up for the enjoyment of tourists, who struggle hard to be gay, and succeed :But. mdSfferenfcly. This was a very different affair. ..We were the only tourists in the place. They -were -shy of us at first, but took heart of grace, and soon we were pelting with the best; of them. . • :,... ■ .. „, •;; ■„ :^,. : . .... Confetti are much nicer than ftoweri. They do not hurt so much, and ' they are many times prettier. It is not all poetry to be hit in the eye with, a bunch of violets. The fun had concentrated itself in the public square, which ■is also, I suspect, the market-place. The decorations were flags and Chinese lanterns and 1 garlands of flowers. On a platform in the centre the village band were resting from their labours. The people were nearly all in fancy costume or masks and dominoes. I saw three perfect Lohengrin costumes. The people mostly were dressed in dominoes, or Pierrot costume, or crinkled paper, or old sacks or sheets, or anything that came in the way. There were three or four officers looking gallant to a degree. A French officer with a curled-up moustache is irresistible, for his moustache is a perfect trap for confetti. I saw one officer who had been pelted on one side with green and another with purple, and, as the confetti lodged in bis moustache, the effect full-face may be imagined. I never knew till now how much tender meaning could be put into the throwing of a handful of confetti. I was stationed behind the village belle — an uncommonly bandsome girl, with her hair done up in a wonderful lace cap, and a big bow under her chin. The officers took handfuls of rose-coloured confetti, looked at her with languid adoration, and gently waited them towards her. You could not say they "threw" the things, for the motion was light and airy, but the amount of delicate passion conveyed was astounding A man dressed as an Englishman stood on the edge of the village fountain, with a fishing-rod in his hand, baited with a lump of sugar, and all the small boys of the place stood below, and tried to catch tbe sugar in their mouths. The " Englishman " wore red side-whiskers and a pith helmet, and remarked "Oh, yes," at intervals, to the delight of the crowd. I met a boy whose knowledge of English was' still more extensive. We were elbowing our way along, and, of course, talking English, when a "larrikin" threw a handful of confetti in our faces, exclaiming, "Oh, dear me!" with the most "superior Piccadilly " accent. -Then the band began to play, and soon everyone was dancing with everyone else, a kind of cross between a polka and a jig, men dancing with men and women -Hath women, or vice versa, as they felt disposed, but everyone jumping and jogging, and confetti flying over all. Presently the band got off its platform, and began moving up the main street, and the people followed, still dancing. As they passed th« cafes, the drinkers left their absinthe and beer and hastened to join the throng. Away they all went up die narow streets, clowns, Lobengrins, and kings, giants, and curious masks. In the rear were two wandering Australians, struggling hard with a latent sense of propriety.