…archers, drums, trumpets, spears, silver and gilded maces, troupe after troupe of merry-eyed dancing girls, followed by a hundred or so of the same queer-looking creatures I saw at the windows, carrying triangles in one hand and scales in the other; and last — last of all — mounted on a gigantic white horse, the tall and gaunt figure of Death. He wore nothing save two long, green feathers which waved to and fro, in the most ludicrous fashion, as he bowed his fleshless head, first on one side and then on the other, in gracious acknowledgment of the salutes of the people. And what a reception he had! A reception in which everyone joined, young and old, rich and poor, from those on the housetops, and balconies , and in doorways, and windows, even to those in the procession itself! One and all shouted and cheered, clapped, stamped, and…