Fasnacht in Hunsruck

The Fasnacht procession through the streets of Hunsruck occurred in keeping with dictates of immemorial Shrove Tuesday tradition. Notably absent, though, was any member of the ducal family, who customarily presided over the festivities. The court gazette revealed that the Herzogin had retired to the ducal hunting lodge outside Kognat, and the new Pfalzgrafin was of course en route to her new life in Waldreck. More disturbing to insiders, though, was the conspicuous lack of any explanation for the absence of the Herzog or dowager duchess.

Rumours from the court suggested that both had been indisposed by a particularly pernicious flux, although no official confirmation of such questions could be forthcoming--to a question that verged on the treasonous even to ask. Nonetheless, the citizens of Hunsruck threw themselves with abandon into the Carnival atmosphere, indulging the carnal appetites that must shortly be mortified through the meagre days of Lent.