St. Mary's gazette., 1866-11-22
~ReyfvaI OF ChiyalrY.

zpore Au,r,ican. that we have almost 'ceas-
| ct to wish for it asd have q: last m.-le up
our minds to do withoutit The lecture,
| there fore, which it reads US below against
tournament displays, it must NOT be sur
rrised if We receive si,h' q slight degree
Of con.emp' Our learned brother, we
fear, viii think tLat we have been given
over to pcrdition, but We persist, never
,heIess, sAat We ka,e = right 10 awase
ourselves in onr own way, and that, if we
prefer tournament to the shameless aid
unchristian displays 50 popular with the
Yankees, it is none of Bis business. With
this brief prologue, we submit our own
aud the people Of the South to our broth
eT's ernsure. promising, however. that, as
the praise Of some men would be dis
grace to US, the ccnsu-e Of some others IS
an honor.
| There was published tie other day, in
our Maryland journals, an account Of a
tournament" held at or near Leonard
town, little village in St. Nary couny,
in this State, at which sundry 'kn.ht5,'
dressed in fancy millinery, "ti'ted' for The
prize and crowner! Queen of LoTe and
Beauty" The tickets OF admission to this
gorgeous spectacle were I'D alta reasonable
price, aud the proceeds were devoted to
the Southern Relief Association. There
have been sirnilar feast; held in our South
crn States since the war, aui they are re-
forred to in wy sensible arti lc II ht
last nunbcr - til" No'ion as an inii.:tlon
os the still unchanged habits IN. a,-
and modes of life vet pr,n ~, @
States 1t is, indeed, r''n2
ter the lessons Of >rci &. =
gone through, the youa- ine!. e.. s.it So.
ton, almost all of whom have learned
practical lessons in the ficll-who have re-
turned to homes reduced in resources, and
With but sal hopes in the Immediate future
-shouM again tal,o to such child's play.
and waste days and money in such 70 lish
pastime. One would thiak that the youth
who had pad four y,ars in downright
war, such as no nojertr nation ha sceu-
who have display ed fnrtitu1e, bravery and
endurance on tie bcId Of battle, through
lpng ears Of distress and reverses, III the
supp rt of cause which theY ttongh jus
would be sensible enough, at he cni
it, to beat their swords into plouG hshartS.
and, with the me resolution, dtvo'
themselves to the reconstruction Of their
homes, their fortunes and their society.
under the new and altered condition of af
fairs. One would suppose that havin.
seen the reality of war, they would not pc
likely at its conclusion to be content, 81
even to anus themselves, with sham i'm
itation Of it. The late tournaments" how
ever, show that there is class (perhaps
they are Of those that did not seek the re-
a!;tv) who are ready to 60 back to the old
things.
There is nothing, says the article to
which We lave referred, in fitting at
ring, cuttius apples with sword, or leap
iug hurdles on horseback, to lead one to
doubt either the culture or the G cd sens,
Of the community which practices them
But any country III which it IS the custom,
in our day to assemble in great crowds,
to wa'ch men doing these things. in broad
dayli. hit, in the midst of great public dis
trcss, dressed up in fantastic costumes,
and calling themselves .DiSinhcr:ted
knights, Knights of the Sword, kni hts
Of the Lone Star, and pretending to wor-
ship a young women from n ,icst wood
en- house in the Ne. hborhood as the Queen
of Love and Beauty and to regard the
bcstowa. Of shabby theatrical coronct by
her as the SUNNI, Of earthly felicity, We need
not have the least hesitation in prououuc-
ing scmi-ciyil:zcd--as still in stage much
behind what = distinguished French writer
calls a rroi peup}e nr1derne. And the in
slant revival of this custom. after the close !
of the war, we regard as vcry strong ar
o1meut against the notion that Southern
Society has un,arcopo any rnal transfor- !
such tran, ,tnrmation a. &c, to /
w.. own. et,,;,o th,t i Will bcrco.
tor.h .ra.1 Ia ,.a,I, or ,r~r,.oss ,,,,ral ma