第82章

To divert oneself is to turn aside from oneself， to break loose and to forget oneself； and to forget oneself fully one must be transported into another， put himself in the place of another， take his mask and play his part. Hence the liveliest of diversions is the comedy in which one is an actor. It is that of children who， as authors， actors and audience， improvise and perform small scenes. It is that of a people whose political régime excludes exacting manly tasks (soucis virile) and who sport with life just like children. At Venice， in the eighteenth century， the carnival lasts six months； in France， under another form， it lasts the entire year. Less familiar and less picturesque， more refined and more elegant， it abandons the public square where it lacks sunshine， to shut itself up in drawing-rooms where chandeliers are the most suitable for it. It has retained of the vast popular masquerade only a fragment， the opera ball， certainly very splendid and frequented by princes， princesses and the queen； but this fragment， brilliant as it is， does not suffice； consequently， in every chateau， in every mansion， at Paris and in the provinces， it sets up travesties on society and domestic comedies. - On welcoming a great personage， on celebrating the birthday of the master or mistress of the house， its guests or invited persons perform in an improvised operetta， in an ingenious， laudatory pastoral， sometimes dressed as gods， as Virtues， as mythological abstractions， as operatic Turks， Laplanders and Poles， similar to the figures then gracing the frontispieces of books， sometimes in the dress of peasants， pedagogues， peddlers， milkmaids and flower-girls like the fanciful villagers with which the current taste then fills the stage. They sing， they dance， and come forward in turn to recite petty verses composed for the occasion consisting of so many well-turned compliments.[68] - At Chantilly "the young and charming Duchesse de Bourbon， attired as a voluptuous Naiad， guides the Comte du Nord， in a gilded gondola， across the grand canal to the island of Love；" the Prince de Conti， in his part， serves as pilot to the Grand Duchesse；other seigniors and ladies "each in allegorical guise，" form the escort，[69] and on these limpid waters， in this new garden of Alcinous， the smiling and gallant retinue seems a fairy scene in Tasso. - At Vaudreuil， the ladies， advised that they are to be carried off to seraglios， attire themselves as vestals， while the high-priest welcomes them with pretty couplets into his temple in the park； meanwhile over three hundred Turks arrive who force the enclosure to the sound of music， and bear away the ladies in palanquins along the illuminated gardens. At the little Trianon， the park is arranged as a fair， and the ladies of the court are the saleswomen， "the queen keeping a café，" while， here and there， are processions and theatricals； this festival costs， it is said， 100，000livres， and a repetition of it is designed at Choisy attended with a larger outlay.