Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff
CZENUKFR

Tuesday, 25 February 1879

We celebrated Carnival all day long. We were completely disguised, and I amused myself greatly accosting everyone during the two hours of the carriage parade.
The funniest thing was to address English invalids as "Arthur" or "Ernest" and tell them: "Your wife is cheating on you." Or to cry at strangers that I am Ernestine, that they are perfidious, and that I shall have my revenge. All of that is familiar, silly if one likes — but when one is in the spirit one can produce rather amusing situations and snatches of dialogue. Paul is very dear; he talks nonsense to everyone in the street.
The day before yesterday we took into our carriage a Russian entirely unknown to us and stunned him for half an hour. In the midst of the festivities Paul leaves us and creates an amusing incident — here it is, as told by the hero himself. Madame Tutcheff, Mademoiselle and Monsieur Eristoff are at the grandstand. Paul goes to find them and takes his place behind them; then as they were preparing to leave he blocks the prince's path. The prince politely begs him to let the ladies pass — and as the green domino paid no heed to the request, he said to him, laughing:
— Come now, mask, let us pass.
— No, replied the domino, no I shall not let you pass. And he removed his mask.
Tableau
— My dear Monsieur, I am very glad to meet you. It is two years that I have been looking for you — but you hide yourself like the coward you are.
— But Monsieur, but Monsieur — what do you want with me, what have you against me? We parted as good friends at Gavronzi — speak Russian, I beg you — he added in Russian.
The procession went on foot — we did not go, in any case; we admired the fireworks from the grandstand. These good, these excellent Niçois. Having grown up among them, I love them! I detest the people of the North. I spoke to everyone — to common folk — and all responded well. Not one impertinence, not one platitude. At last, when everything was over and the Poor Carnival burned, we had tea at Rumpelmayer's, and to continue the running joke of the day each of us asked the serving girl every time she passed whether Monsieur Gautier had arrived. That came to a good twenty-five times in all.