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Samuel Clemens.
“The Mardi Gras Letter.”

In 1859, the Mystick Krewe of Comus paraded for the 3rd time. By a happy coincidence, a 23-year-old Samuel Clemens, who was apprenticing as a riverboat pilot, happened to disembark from the Aleck Scott, which had left St. Louis on 1 March and arrived in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, 8 March, 1859 (The Mark Twain Project). We see in the letter both the excitement of a young man away from home experiencing Mardi Gras for the first time, coupled with the observational skills and the wry voice that would later make Mark Twain the great American writer. Mardi Gras arose as an expression of New Oreans culture, and was directed inward. Samuel Clemens may have been the first to see its potential as a tourist attraction: "[It’s the be]ginning of Lent, and all good Catholics eat and drink freely of what they please, and, in fact, do what they please, in order that they may be the better able to keep sober and quiet during the coming fast. It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans."

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Mystick Krewe of Comus. 1867.
"Mystick Krewe of Comus. 1867."


Notes.


  1. Clemens was in this city: ______________________
  2. And saw this event: ___________________________
  3. What was the first strange thing he saw? _________________________ 
  4. What was the 18-year-old girl dressed as? _________________________ 
  5. What did she do that surprised Clemens? _________________________ 
  6. What was the name of the parade that Twain saw? ___________________________ 
  7. What street did it parade on? _____________________________ 
  8. List five of the things he saw in the parade:
    1.  
    2.  
    3.  
    4.  
    5.  
  9. What were the themes of the parade?





  10. Journaling: Mood created by the story: Write down at least 5 words that describe how the letter makes you feel.
    1.  
    2.  
    3.  
    4.  
    5.  
  11. How does Clemens create the moods you've identified? List words, phrases, images, etc., that contribute to the mood.






Here's an 1874 account of the 1859 parade that Samuel Clemens saw:

"The reputation of the Krewe was now so well established, that long before the arrival of the day — March 8th — the greatest interest was felt as to the coming exhibition. The subject chosen was "Twelfth Night, or the courtly pageant of Misrule" and the elegant manner in which the parade was conceived, and the magnificence of its execution, is yet remembered and often spoken of by those who witnessed it. They first appeared on Orleans street, and proceeded to pay their respects to the mayor; welcomed on every hand by immense crowds who had gathered to see them. Four tableaux were given at the Varieties theatre, which was crowded to overflowing, and the ceremonies wound up with a grand ball, the Krewe disappearing as usual as the hour of twelve was tolled." (Madden. Handbook of the Carnival.)

A Brief History of the Krewe of Comus.

"Carnival’s roots go back to the Middle Ages. The first “official” Mardi Gras celebration took place in 1833. Bernard Mandeville de Marigny, a wealthy landowner (and namesake of the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood) sponsored a “creole-style” celebration supervised by city officials. Even though the celebrations were now “official,” they were still quite disorganized and rowdy. In 20 years, the appeals to abolish public Mardi Gras celebrations were renewed.

"In 1856, six Anglo-American transplants from Mobile formed a secret society they named the Mistick Krewe of Comus. The krewe held a 2-float night parade on Mardi Gras Day of 1857, and the modern parade era was born. Comus shifted the focus of Mardi Gras celebrations from citizens carousing in the street to citizens passively watching a parade in the street. The change was such a success that tourists began visiting New Orleans in 1858.

"Comus paraded from 1857 to 1861, but suspended their celebration in 1862, because of the Civil War. By 1872, another group of businessmen decided to hold a daytime parade on Mardi Gras day. They named their organization The School of Design, and the king of their parade was designated Rex, King of Carnival. Rex paraded regularly from 1872 until 1917, but Comus took a hiatus from parading from 1885 to 1890." (NOLA History)


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