THE GRANDEST PROCESSION BEGINS

Comus reigned as the King of Carnival for another 3 years, until the start of the Civil War.  All festivities were cancelled during the war, which only served to make the natives hungrier for their annual celebration.  When Comus returned to the streets of New Orleans in 1866, it was an enormous success and the perfect tonic for a war-torn area in desperate need of a boost.  By this point, other krewes were beginning to form, contributing to the merriment.  In 1870, the Twelfth Night Revelers appeared, and began the tradition of presenting a young maiden with a cake, inside of which was baked a gold bean...sort of.  The first year, no one actually claimed  to have gotten the bean!  (the following year, they solved the problem by keeping track of which piece of king cake had the gold bean inside.)

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1872 was a banner year for Mardi Gras, seeing the premieres of the Knights of Momus parade on New Year's Eve, and the visit of genuine royalty to New Orleans.  Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff came to the city early in the year, inspiring the creation of the School of Design  (the official name of the Rex Organization).  The Grand Duke attended a performance of a popular operetta called Bluebeard at the Academy of Music on St. Charles Avenue (where the Hotel Intercontinental now stands).  In the show was a young lady named Lydia Thompson, whom the Grand Duke had met before his arrival in the city.  In the show, she sang an unusual melody entitled "If Ever I Cease to Love" that was assumed to be a favourite of the Duke's.  Rumour had it that there had been a courtship between the Grand Duke and Miss Thompson, though such an assignation was never proven.  However, in the best traditions of Carnival, the romantic rumours soon became acknowledged "fact" and "If Ever I Cease to Love" was adopted as the official song of Mardi Gras.  The Grand Duke was also given the honour of selecting the official colours for Mardi Gras, and using the heraldic traditions, selected purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.  These are also the colours of the House of Romanoff.   Several other traditions were established that same year, including  the tradition of keeping the identity of Rex a secret until Mardi Gras Day, and Rex's arrival by riverboat at the foot of Canal Street at sunset on Lundi Gras evening.

Though Rex was declared the new King of Carnival, deference had to be paid to the elder ruler, the king of Comus.  Therefore, it was declared that Rex and Comus would meet at the end of the night, signaling the end of Mardi Gras.  The innovation of Rex cemented Carnival in the New Orleans psyche, and opened the door for literally hundreds of future krewes to flourish and blossom.  In the 1880's, the Krewe of Proteus appeared with a stylish parade based on Egyptian mythology.  In 1890, the first walking club, the Jefferson City Buzzards began the walking club traditions we still see today.  The Original Illinois Club started in 1894, the first African-American Mardi Gras organization.  1896 saw the debut of Les Mystereuses (now defunct), the first all-female krewe.

Next up, the second century of Mardi Gras in New Orleans concludes, and the celebrations take on a new look.