Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-12-02

!! 80 &C veil Is modern history. Calamity
very soal ofchivalTy, and the candidate
~, fame had eyer to remember that ne was tne
squire of Daues, solemnly bound 10 protect lne
yiidov and orphan. In those days the gentle
!, s1.'a,oe Of Woman was not only felt, but
al, acknowledged; her will was the lncen-
3 81 ~ leeds of high emprise. In the chlvairlc
oborocer. lore was as marked a feature as cat0r,
Nd h. who knew how to break lance, and dld
,ot tnow how to win a lady, was held as out
.'oIsa man. Cover. tie poet, had thus sum-
mrned up the knights devotion to the sex:
ltyyba. things shebids me do,Ido;
And where she b:Ss me 90, SO;
And when she lks to call, come:
serve, i bow box, IoWts'
Nv eye fOllowetbheE about
D.u,, s.;d she wis woman more honored,
.orered Ms well as byed, than in the days oil
.T;,,oIr, and never were men more constant
thar when woman vas not toy to De De Playea
lied, she was wSiEly of the homage-to pro.
fess nobility ofteeling and heroism of heErt
which made her fl companion for men OF chlv-
alrous deeds. twas the beauty of woman
which inspired theheroic and graceful achieve
ments of the tournanent "Be valiant, knights,
fair eyes behold ydl," was the spirit-stirring
cry of old warriors Who could nolonger join in
the conflict themSlves The gallantry OF
knighthood gave notonly love, but respect and
protection. Like TIL knights, the troubadours
song instead of sworl. The poetry thus Great
ed had enriched the literature of all nations.
Madame Lola Monez here related several an
ecdotes illustrating he lives and loves of the
Troubadours, all of which were much applaud
ed, particularly that touching one Ghe subject
of one of the stories on the Decameron of Boo
caccio) of the TrOubadours, beloved by the wife
of Raimond, of Castle Roussillon. The lover
was slain by the husband, who tore out his
l0Od 5a1inofo1ty CCOlrn6 O0H IT tO his
wife at supper. She, when told what food she
had taken, exclaimed that no meaner repast
should ever again be hers, and throwing herself
from the balcony of her castle, was dashed to
In those days, she said, gaIIantry had, at least
the element of sincerity in it. 1t was displayed
in the lives, as well as in the songs,o the Trou
badOres. She related how Jauffre Rudel had
fallen in love with MelesendN, Countess of Tri-
poli-from only description of her beauty
and literally persisted from the intensity of his
passion. Gallantry, she remarked, had sOitened
and refined the manners of the age-but it soon
into etFeminacy, voluptuousness, and
even into crime.
In the reign of Charles the Second, instead of
a manly devotion of an earlier age, there was a
false, intriguing and corrupt adulation, in which
love was fevera and gallaDtry only trap for
woman'S honor. She contrasted Charles II with
Louis XIV, who was gallant without being n
rOuc. fits female fayorites were not only the
most beautiful, but the most refined, and it
might almost be said, the best women of France
Such was Louis de Ia VALERIE, who early re-
tired from the world Such was Madame Main
tenon. whose influence on the king was always
refining aud bencicent. She glanced ut the
character of Francois of France, who, when a
captive in Spain, wrote to his mother, Louise of
Savoy, "Madame, all is lost except honor, and
who declared that Court without ladies was
like spring without flowers.
She dwelt in evident admiration on the gal
lantry Of Spaniards, by whom Beauty is honor
ed aud loved in the spirit OF old chivalry. She
had seen the students throw down their cloaks
to form a carpet for beautiful woman to cross
the street upon. In Spain, the attachment of
the sexes was serious and permanent feeling;
in France, it was light and variable Filtration
was really the nearest approach to gallatry in
France; while in England the aristocracy, the
only class there who could have the genuine
feeling Of gallantry, are turned shop owners and
tradesmen. The Smiths and Joneses who figure
on the sign-boards have the nobility standing
behind them as silent partners. In this country,
rs in England there is no leisure for the cult
vatIon of that feeling of romance which is the
basis of gallantry. Instead OF devoting life,
as of old to the worship and service of the fair
ladies, people are building telegraphs, railroads,
Notwithstanding schemes of finance,
SiiS area VI
Yet the age had species of gallantry which,
perhaps deserved no higher name than flirta-
making n fool of woman by atten-
tons which are hollow, tickle and insncere.
The modern gallant was sorry substitute for
the genuine gallant of the days of chivalry.-
Women, she said, were made to feel from the
very cradle, that beauty is her sole capital to be-
gin life with, and what wonder was it if she
should listen approviDgly, and at last affection
ltely, to the one who tells her that she is rich
in this? At this game, however, woman could
play as well as man; but as general thing, wo-
man got the worst of it in this game of deccp-
they have more natural sincerity, and
lre therefore, more likely to get wounded i'll
playing with Cupid, as children are who play
with pen.kniVes.
In Poland, as in Spain, still fingers remnant
of the ancient feeling of gallantry. There she
had seen the shoe of beautiful woman filed
with champagne and passed up and down the
table for drinking cup. Such compliment
could never be paid to any lady unless she was
for very beautiful foot.
In Italy, there was little of the old gallantry,
and what there was, was confined to the ladies
who had become distinguished in the field of art.
A beautiful woman who has genius, in any line
Of art in Italy, will awaken at least the external
show of gallnntry, but all other women in that
however beautiful they may be, must
be content with that kind of admiration which
is defined by the term .Jtirtat ion-which bears