CHAPTER XII.

AMONG THE CREOLES.

Meaning of the Word “Creole”—­An Old Aristocratic Relic—­The Venice of America—­Origin of the Creole Carnivals—­Rex and His Annual Disguises—­Creole Balls—­The St. Louis Veiled Prophets—­The French Market and Other Landmarks in New Orleans—­A Beautiful Ceremony and an Unfinished Monument.

New Orleans is known throughout the world for the splendor of its carnivals.  As one of the great Creole cities of the world, it has for more than half a century made merry once a year, and given quite a business aspect to carnival festivities.  The Creole is one of the interesting characters to be met with in a tour through the United States.  As a rule, he or she is joyous in the extreme, and believes most heartily in the wisdom of the command to “laugh and grow fat.”  The genuine Creole scarcely knows what it is to be sad for more than a few hours at a time, a very little pleasure more than offsetting a very great deal of trouble and suffering.  A desire to move around and to enjoy changes of scene is a special feature of the Creole, and hence the spectacular effects of the carnival procession appeal most eloquently to him.

Many Eastern and Northern people confound the term “Creole” and “Mulatto,” believing that the former name is given to the offspring of mixed marriages, which take place in spite of the vigilance of the laws of most of the Southern States.  This is entirely a mistake, for the genuine Creole, instead of being an object of contempt and pity, is rather an aristocrat and of a higher caste than the average white man.  Strictly speaking, the term implies birth in this country, but foreign parentage or ancestry.  It was originally applied to the children of French and Spanish settlers in Louisiana, and in that application applied only to quite a handful of people.  As time has worn on, and French emigration has ceased, and the Spaniard has been gradually pushed south, the number of actual Creoles has of course diminished rapidly.  The name, however, by common consent, has been perpetuated and is retained by descendants in the third and fourth generations of original Creoles.  Some of the Creoles of to-day are very wealthy, and many of the others are comparatively poor, changes in modes and conditions of life having affected them very much.  Although the very name Creole suggests Spanish origin, there is more French blood among the Creoles of to-day than that of any other nation.  The vivacious habits and general love of change so common among French people, continue in their descendants.  The old plan of sending the children over to France to be educated has been largely abandoned in these later days, but the influences of Parisian life still have their effect on the race.