, 1865-09-07
THE AGE OF CHIVALRY.
The Negro Tournament at Alex
andria.
The plnck Knights OF tie Old Dom1n-
fOu.-HtCl Fun on the Turf--0ld
InNtItulIons Kcstved---ScUre Of the
Tournament


tCorsspoudeuce of the Chicago Tribuna.1
WAsuIso7ox, Sept 2, 1865.
Anegro tournament! Have any Of your
readers any idea what that meanse / pre-
sumo not, for such u performance never hap
pened but once, and that was yesterday.
Solomon Is reported to have remarked In his
declining years, that there Is nothing new un-
der the sun; and Mrs. Partington has said
that some things arc q great deal more SO
than others. That Solomon was great hum-
bug we all know, and the superior sense OF
Mrs. Partington was never more clearly illus
trated thnn by the event Of yesterday. The
nero tournament WINS little tho best thing
that ever happened in the State Of Virginia.
II contained more fun, sarcasm, and poetic
Justice than my similar effort Of the Sons OF
The sacred soil since the advent of John
Smith, of whom you may have heard. to
these bcnigh.ed shores. Of course, you
know that ono of the most important occupa-
lions of the children of'the Sunny South
has been, tina ont OF mind, the cnltl-
vatim Of al the laAEhtly Tirtues,
0ns nsnsSip. III WING" Il the sepp various $ v Watering
places Of the mother of Presidents, the most
noted pastime has been the Tournament -
which really has not half 50 much sense in 1t
as tle game which Little boys and girls play,
called Copenhagen. A lot Of sptigs Of chiv-
nlry mount their horses, and, while riding At
full speed few rods, with spear take OF D
Don Qui1otey style themselves knights, and
one would think that they really believed That
in these mock tournaments, they considered
that they revived the days Of chivalry, and
established their claims to the appcllation
they have 50 a.rogantly assumed. The tour
Nn 4fn rHf IA
F. F.'s Of Vfrginia-the aristocratic pastime.
The queen Of love and beauty, and the maids
Of honor. were selected from the fairest Of the
1nir ser, and their names were published In all
the newspapers The fortunate females were
supposed to be at premium oyer the rest Of
the sex, and were haied and enried by their
friends, according TO the rule In such cases
made and provided.
Now, ii came to pass, Tint one Gne morning
the colorcd individual became free, and crncr-
Ecd from the condition OF chattcl to that OF
human being, whercat the F. F.'s wcrr, and
eti1 are, much enrnged and highly disgusted.
They cannot understand how II Is that o '.nis-
gers can be q man, end, nj every fresh IN
stance indicative OF the purpose Of the color
cd individual to assert his claims to The posi-.
lion assigned to him By the decree Of the late
Abraham, and confirmed by the
course Of events, they, breaA ont into
torrents Of ofobjurgatfon and rage. Idon't be-
licyc they will ever have d better opportunity
| to indulge IN this SORT Of Iastime than was al:
forded by the negro tournament Of yesterday.
That tsnigger'' should be allowed to accu.
mn1atc property, pay taxes, stand the drast,
and fight by the side of white men, has been
conceded; but the idea that he should vote OK
| exercise nny Of the rights which have the
smallest equin. toward placing him on social
equality with white men has been, and prob
! ni,ly Will be forever, contemplated with horror
and disgust by that unfortunate class called
| F.F. V'e. Now the darkies hare had ths
| audacity to engage u tournament-a pas
lime heretofore considered the exclusive pro.
perty of the white aristocracy. The atfai1
| was af1,inecd according to the strict knightl5
| prpctice, and conducted throughout On white
5olks' principles, The attendance was moi
| very large, as the tournament had not beer
extensively announced. Some 500 OF Cox
were present. II the tournament had been
publicly known, select assortment Of Alex
nndria roughs md seccssionists might
have made raid on the fcstiyi
lies in which case they would have
been severely handled. A few Of the
white people were inyitsa.amonE Their
! Burcan and the CommissaIy Department
The riding was, as general rule, excellent.
| The Knight of GIostcr, Benjamin Stewart,
rode md looked more like an Indian than q
/ negro. Several others showed themselves
/ accomplished horsemen. The Indies were
/
veil behaved. No word, net or gesture could
| he observed unbccoming lady, and one quite
yo1mg eirl was as white rs any one, and waa
snremely beautiful. Since the word lady has
50 wide range Of application, can sec No
f1npropricty In using 1t IN speaking Of our
coiored sisters, however dstasteful 1t may DC
10 their chivalric nefghbors- ..=
TIE COSTUMES or THE KNIGHTS.
were fceriully and wonderfully made. They
were Of thc mos1 tantasiic styles and the most
Gorgeous colors Benjamin Stewart, who was
i:encrally acknowledged to be the best rider
Of the whole company, had genuine full IN
dian costume, aud looked every inch the In
dim. Ono Knight wore rcd shfrt, yellow
scarf and white pantaloons; another q reg
blouse trimmed with white, and dotted With
white spots in thu form of heart, and yellow
| pnntuloous another, shirt Of calico and
pantaloons Of patch, both displaying all the
coiors Of the rainbow; another a white skull
cap, rcd tunic and white shoes; another &
dress Of yellow. calico spotted with black, who
was call the Knight Of Jaundicc another q
white shirt and pantaloons Of blue mosquito
| netting over white cotton. Many wore scazta
and, with one exception, they were put OF
frum The left shoulder to the right wn{st-tht
bar siniste-though this probably WIS not In
tended.
| Alter an hour or 30 of practising so as te
get the ring at the right height from tht
| srouud, preparations were made for the con
lest. One Of the knights within my hearing
| seut his horse by & boy to the river, with in
| st1uct1ons to give him "exactly three swal
/ lows of water md no more nor no less.'
| Others uusatldlc their horses and let then
! craze. A little zbeforoI three, several omni
bus loads oi ladies' arrived, and al three ths
contest commenced. The knights run thre'
| Times each. At the commencement Of eacl
run tue Knight Of Virginia, also, dnbhes
Knight Of Folly, burlesqued the aaar hy faa
FSn3f $fyHf Z
hardly be induced to 20 faster than walk
al n barrel hoop, which was suspended from