During the Carnival people go about the streets in fancy dress,
sometimes with their faces hidden by masks. Often they are dressed as
clowns, and make a great noise, blowing horns, dancing, singing, and
making fools of themselves in every possible way. In the shops bags of
confetti are sold--little bits of coloured paper, like what you see in
England too--which you may throw at other people, whether you know
them or not. The children have often great fun, covering each other
with these bits of paper, which stick in the hair and are very
difficult to shake off. In some of the streets at Brussels the
pavements are carpeted all the time of the Carnival with thousands of
these small pink, yellow, and white fragments, which the people have
been throwing about. Then there are false noses, wigs, and other
disguises, so that you may pass people you know quite well without an
idea who they are. A person may speak to you; you fancy you know the
voice, but a beard, and perhaps a long blue nose, hide the face, and
you are in doubt. A handful of confetti is thrown in your face, and in
a moment the figure is gone and lost in the crowd.
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