The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON. rUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 24, 1E67.

MODERN CHIVALRY.

In the midst of an enthusiastic outburst in fa-
vour of chivalry, Cervantes expressed a bitter re-
gret that, on account of the depravity and dege-
neracy of his age, those brave knights were no
longer seen who formerly took upon themselves
the defence of kingdoms, the chastisement of the
proud, and the recompence of the humble. But
we, thank Heaven, live in happier times. Though
we no longer hear of the " andantes caballeros,"
yet the days of chivalry are not gone by. Though
our age, too, may be in some respects selfish and
averse to self-sacrifice, yet we are glad to find that
there are still amongst us hearts as noble and
souls as grand as in the days of the Tancreds and
the :Godfreys. And so will it ever be as long as
the Catholic Church holds her sway over millions
of mankind. She it is that ennobles men, and makes
them superior to nature. "In the Catholic
Church," says a brilliant living writer, " there is
a perennial source of great men and heroes. There
is no other." Yes ; on her bosom they are ever
being nurtured, ready to come . forth into action
whenever the occasion may call for them. And
such an occasion we have lived to see. The
Father of Christendom is in danger. The im-
pious children of the Revolution have directed
their attack against him, and advanced to the
very walls of the Eternal City. A thrill of fear
is felt through the Church, and lo ! the old spirit
of chivalry is awakened. The past is being repro-
duced. We are reminded of what was seen cen-
turies ago, in the times of the old Crusaders. A
cry of woe and grief was then heard coming from
the Holy Sepulchre. It went through Europe with
a wondrous awakening power, and whole nations
were stirred to their depths. Then were heroes
seen coming to light from city and from hamlet,
through the length and breadth of Christendom.
They buckled on the shield and the broad-sword,
and set off on their march for Palestine. They
thought not of home or lands in those days of
faith. That cry of woe from the East acted on
them with a magic power. The tomb of the Saviour
must be redeemed. It must be wrested from the
defiled hands of the savage Saracens. God's
honour required it ; their own faith and devotion
demanded it. And so these Christian warriors
went in thousands on that noble expedition. Over
rough roads and smooth they went ; over the bar-
ren and dreary desert ; over rivers and rocky
passes ; under the burning sun ; through pestilence
and through famine. They had great hearts, those
old Crusaders, and they feared nothing in their
burning zeal. Gibbon is amazed, and confesses
that he does not understand how men should thus
leave their homes and their worldly possessions
and sacrifice their lives for a stone tomb 2,000
miles away. The infidel had no right to see it,
because he had lost the light of faith.
It is not now from Jerusalem that a wail of
distress is heard. We cannot say there is a cry of
suffering heard at all. But there is a thrill of fear
throughout the universal Church, and Catholic in-
stinct tells every member of it there is pain and
agony in the bead and the heart which areboth
centred in Rome. Romeward, then, the whole
Catholic world is looking with painful anxiety ;
sleeping chivalry has felt a thrill of fear and has
sprung to its feet. It is leaving noble homes and
rich ancestral lands, and hastening to stand in armed
defence round the throne of Peter, and there will be
thousands in our day who will understand as little
the chivalry and self-sacrifice of these gallant men
who have gone to fight for Pius IX., as the earthly-
minded Gibbon did the noble self-devotedness of
the old Crusaders. The infidel and self-worship-
ping world must be amazed and puzzled to see the
noblest of the Catholic aristocracy of almost
every country in Europe gathering round the
throne of the Pontiff-King. From chivalrous
France they have gone in numbers, and have al-
ready done deeds of gallantry and heroism which
Frenchmen will be proud of as long as,,the world
lasts. We see that the heart of France is, as it
ever was, full of love and devotion to the Holy See.
In spite of revolution and infidelity France is, after
all, what she always was, the chivalrous, the brave,
the devoted, the Catholic. When her first Chris-
tian King Clovis, in ages far 'back, heard of the
1 passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he cried
out in his generous ardour—" Had I been present
1 at the head of my valiant Franks I would have
revenged his injuries." Many a time since then
have the descendants of that brave King and his
warriors had the honour of defending the suffering
Vicar of Christ. And the old traditional spirit
is among them still. We cannot read of the gal-
lant Charette leading on his French Zouaves at
the battle of Mentana amid the fiery storm of
whistling balls, with the soul-inspiring words,
"Vive la France ! Vive Pie IX. !" without feeling
our hearts swell with emotion, and remembering
that he and his brave Zouaves are the descendants
of Clovis and his valiant Franks." From Holland,
yet full of the courageous spirit of the Gorcum
martyrs—from Catholic Belgium, the land of glori-
ous congresses, ardent and 'generous youths have
gone in hundreds. From Germany, too, we have
seen them going with the old " Biederkeit " and
' ' Tapferkeit' of their fathers deep in their generous
hearts. Other countries, also—Spain, Switzerland,
Ireland, and Scotland, have sent their sons to shed
their blood for the great cause.
And what has our own England done—the land
whose history is one of glorious battles and deeds
of bravery, whose name has been heard of in every
clime as the synonyme of gallantry and heroism?
We had almost thought that chivalry had died out
lin the heart of England. We had almost believed
that those noble men who left their homes for the
Holy Land in the centuries gone by, under the
leadership of the Richards and the Henrys of Ca-
tholic England, had left no sons behind them to
perpetuate their noble race. We were beginning
to feel shame and confusion that no English blood
seemed likely to be mingled with that of those gal-
lant troops fighting for a cause so sacred and dear
to us all. We were beginning to look into the
future, and to picture to ourselves the feelings of
Catholic youth, in years to come, when they read
1 of the persecutions and the dangers of Pope Pius
IX. The noble and warlike Crillon, when he heard
described in vivid language the scourging and the
cruel treatment of our Blessed Lord, sprung to his
feet, and, drawing his sword from its scabbard,
cried out, "Oa etais to brave Crillon." Such we
had begun to imagine the question, and such the
feelings of English Catholic youth in future times,
when it would hear of the sufferings of the Holy
Father, and not find itself represented among his
defenders. But, thank Heaven, such will not be
the case. Young Englishmen, and some, 'too, of
noble blood, have already gone to offer their ser-
vices and their lives for the Vicar of Christ, and
others are now going. The tide of English
chivalry is at length setting in Romewards ; so we
hope it will flow deep and strong round the throne
of the Holy Father. We look for great things from
our gallant countrymen. We have a hope and
confidence that the noble Catholic blood of our
brave young English hearts, shed with love and
devotion for the Vicar of Christ on the battle-
fields of Italy, will rise with a mighty power be-
fore the throne of God, and descend as a shower
of heavenly blessings on this unhappy land. And
the memory of those who have thus died shall ever
be cherished in the country of their birth. The
glorious things they did shall be repeated with
gratitude and with pride in thousands of English
homes through the centuries still to come. The
names of Alfred Collingridge and Julian Watts
Russell, and others of our countrymen who may
yet shed theiriblood for such a sacred cause, shall
be dear to English Catholic youth, and have a
musical sound in Catholic ears, as long as history
has a voice to tell of their noble deeds.

-What has already been done by the brave Papal
troops is an encouragement for the future. Not
in vain has the Holy Sacrifice been offered up
during these late years of bitterness, that God
would protect his Church ; not in vain those up-
lifted hands of the children of the Faith ; not in
♦ain that never-ceasing telling of beads to the
Mother of God by the simple and the poor. God
has heard his people. He has shown Himself once
more as the " God of Battles," and has scattered
his enemies. By his help a victory has been gained

that will hereafter be looked upon as one of the
landmarks of history. When the Crusaders of old
went forth against the Saracens, it was not merely
to liberate Jerusalem that in reality they went.
The time was a momentous one ; it was a great
crisis in history. " The question was not," says a
historian, "to know whether the Holy Sepulchre
should belong to the disciples of Christ or Ma-
hornet ; it was to decide which of the two peoples
should possess the dominion of the world." The
warlike ardour of the Crusaders was not probably
far-sighted ; it only saw an accidental enemy in
the Saracen host. It saw not at their back cruelty
and ignorance and savage barbarism. Those
Christian warriors, therefore, only " aspired to the
deliverance of a tomb, but they saved a world."
So was it in the late battles of the modern
Crusaders against the Italian Revolutionists. The
near-sighted eye could only see the discontented
rebels of "young Italy." But behind their back
was cruelty and irreligion, and blasphemy and
horrid sacrilege, and oppression. The guillotine
which they had with them, and which they ex-
pected to set up in Rome, was the symbol not only
of cruelty, but of much that is terrible and diaboli-
cal besides. Hence, we may say with truth, these
Christian warriors of our days, whilst they only
aspired to save a city, have in reality saved the
Catholic world.

But though, by God's help, so much has been
done, we cannot believe that all danger is passed.
Like the rebel host in the 6th book of Milton, the
vanquished enemies of the Holy See have disap-
peared for a time, but, after having taken counsel,
" the atheist crew " will come forth again. They
will not so easily forgive the humiliation they have
received. The contemptible sbirri of the Pope—
the " rile mercenaries " whose blood was not wor-
thy to " soil " the Garibaldian sabres—have utterly
routed and crushed into surrender the " diavolo
rosso " and his miserable brigands before the face
of the whole world. This the red-shirts will not
forget, nor, if it be possible, leave unrevenged.
No. We cannot think the danger altogether passed.
The Holy Fatherforetold that the Revolution would
reach to the very walls of Rome ; yet we cannot
but think that it will come thundering against
them once more, shouting its horrid blasphemies
and impious curses under the very battlements that
guard all that is dear and sacred in our holy re-
ligion. Yes ; there will be terrible fighting yet
and immortal glory for the soldiers of Christ. But
we may look with confidence to a glorious issue.
Be ready then, gallant heroes, for the battles that
still await you. The Catholic world will have its
eyes upon you. Whilst you are wielding the sword
in the battle-field, consecrated hands will be raised
in sacrifice for you in the sanctuaries of the Church,
your mothers and your sisters will be invoking the
help of God for you in the country of your birth,
and supplications will arise to Heaven for you
through the length and breadth of Christendom.
Courage, then, noble warriors, for whether you
die on the field of battle, or return home as con-
querors, the issue will be glorious for you. The
voice that caused the warlike spirits of the
Crusaders of old, comes sounding to you through
the centuries, with these words of encouragement,
" quam gloriosi revertuntu victores de prcelio,
quam beati moriuntur martyres in prcelio." (S.
Bern., ad milites templi.)—Westminster Gazette.

sue the ruinous policy of extension now so much in
vogue, but close the capital account at once. They
might then have some hopes of a dividend.

The CHAIRMAN stated that after the payment of
£12,000 for the two vessels now building there
would be no

PROTECTION OF THEATRES FROMIIRE

--~

Dion Bandeault, not content with fame, as an
accomplished actor, and success as an author of sen-
sational dramas, has recently appeared in public as
the projector of a sensational scheme for extinguish-
ing fire in our theatres. 0 ie, at least, easily to be
understood—familiar in its foundation to all house-
wives, c )oks, and sculleryinaids—w:fich is a great
advantage, after all, for there is nothing like sim-
plicity. It that the roofs of sae'i places of public
amusements shoal I be fashioned like inverted cul-
lenders, i.e., perforated with innumerable holes or
tubes, communicating, we presume, by capacious
valves to vast reservoirs above. If we admit the
scheme to be feasible, there are many other purL
poses to which these reservoirs might be applied.
They might be swimming-baths, on an elevated
scale, or spacious aquariums, in which the Liliput
and Brobdignag of our lakes might sport amidst a
luxuriant vegetation. Only fancy, the tadpole and
the salmon, with the leaves and the flowers of a
Victoria Regina, so far above the dirt and turmoil
of our streets, as to be in close proximity to our
reeking chimney-pots ; and the❑ what a supply for
real water-falls and cataracts, and, moreover,
for a new sensational scene upon the stage !
All playgoers are familiar with " The Streets of
London" during a conflagration, but the streets of
London in a thunder storm, umbrellas and actors
thoroughly drenched, would indeed be a startling
novelty. There is but one drawback to such plea-
surable conception, which is, that the wrong tap
might be turned, and the stalls, and the pens, and
the gallery would get it. There would be no re-
spect for persons in such a downfall—nay, not even
for a stray reporter. So, as the scheme for extin-
guishing fire by the means of artificial tropical
storms is one which is not to be damped by throw-
ing cold water upon it, we will dismiss it, and con-
sider what may be done with bricks.
When we have arrived at such a pitch of happi-
ness as to be under no apprehension as to the de-
struction of our own dwellings by fire, we may then
anticipate a like immunity for our theatres, but un-
til then we can but deem them as doomed (sooner
or later) to the usual mode of destruction. Why,
then, should we not endeavour to construct them
so as to secure, in the first place, safety to an audi-
ence, and, in the second, a lower limit to the loss of
property ? This appears to us the real question at
issue, and to lead to its solution we bring forward
the following suggestions, not with a feeling of pride
but with a sense of duty.

Let the stage and the auditory be separated from
the lobbies by walls of more than ordinary strength,
and these lobbies solidly vaulted over, floor above
floor, and the roof vaulted likewise. Neither
wooden flooring nor wood in their staircases
of communication should be allowed, and even
the doors to the auditory should be (if pos-
sible) of non-inflammable materials ; the saloon,
offices above, as also the ways of egress similarly
constructed, and thus the audience would step from
the auditory into places of perfect security. Now
let the stage and the auditory be soli lly domed
over, so whilst there would be no rafters to form
additional fuel, the conflagration would be con-
fined. Then, if iron were plentifully used
(wherever the comfort of the spectators would ad-
mit, and the permanent security of the walls
allow, as in the seats and in the elevation of boxes
and gallery), the amount of consumable material
would be reduced to d very small supply, in the
auditory at least. The stage, indeed, from its
requisite machinery, scenery, and decorations,
would be the great area of destruction. Here the
fire for a time would be fierce, but, comparatively
speaking, of slight duration, and if its walls were
of a nature so solid as to resist its effect, if even a
conflagration ensued during a performance there
would be little risk of having to deplore a loss of
life, and ultimately there would be but a theatre to
restore, not one to rebuild.—Racing Times.