The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-01-12
A COrlnthian Custom.

When Christianity as first intro.
duced into Corinthea, it was gladly
received by the peasants, but the no.
bles despised it as q low and ignoble
superstition. The duke, therefore
Ingewo, who held his Office at the
hands of Charlemagne, and was him
self a devout Christian-bethough
him to give the naughty mobiles les
son. BE made great banquet, and
invited to it poor aud rich, high and
low alike. But the Christians alone
sat at the table of their prince, and
were well and sumptuously feasted
while the heathens were left in the
open air, and fed with tainted meat
and drank sour wine. So it came to
pass that it was the mobiles who had
10 put up with sorry fare, while the
despised peasants Were well served in
the Dnke's presence. They must
have been of a more dOcile make
than most of their class, however,
for this contemptuOus treatment, aided
by the eioquence and arguments of
the Archbishop of Salzburg, converted
them into jealous followers of Christ.
This was the treatment they were
told awaited them on the Day of
Judgment, while believers, however
lOwly, would sit with Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, at the marriage feast Of
the Lamb. In recognition, therefore,
of the great good which the example
of the peasants had wrought, in thus
bringing their mobiles TO reason, the
following custom was established.
The custom was real one, whatever
we may think ef its alleged origin.
Whenever duke was to be in
stalled in Corinthea, he went on foot
an peasants clothes, with shepherds
IL III. -
upon his left, and q lean horse upon
his right, toa stone called tho "Prince's
Stone" about mile from Klagenfurt.
Here sat a PEASANT was the heredi-
tary right Of particular family to
take part in the drama-and, as the
new prince drew near, followed by
crowd of the people, he asked "WhO
is it that comes here with such RlOrdly
step?n Then the people answered /;
1.-The prince of the land comes" 'Is
he ALSO" he asked, ga righteous judge,
"A furtherer of the welfare Of our land,
and of our free possessions? Is he
also a protector of the Christian faith,
and of widows anu orphans? eyes"
was the answer, "he Is, and shall be-"
Then the new prince promised the
peasants that ne would not be ashamed
to plow with such cattle. And the
peasant asked again: How shall I
be brought from this place ?" The
Count of Gortz, hereditary Count Pala-
tine, answered for the prince: " We
will buy you off with sixty pence
the OK aud the horse shall be yours,
you shall have the garments Of the
prince and your house shall be free
and never taxed" At this. the peas
ant rose and gave the prince 3 mighty
blow on the ear with the left hand the
prince took his seat upon the stone,
swore to observe the liberties Of his
subjects, and began to administer his
Office.
AS long as the prince sat upon the
stone, the Gradneckers had right to
NOW grass wherever they liked, and
the PortendOrffers to burn and de-
strOy at will, and when the family Of
the Portendorffers became extinct,
this desirable privilege passed to the
Mordaxen. This singular right re-
minds one of q custom In another
Slavonic country. When the dukes
of Bohemia began to be summoned to
appear at the diets Of the Empire, in
the IIth century, they obtained, as q
privilege to cOunterbaiance this bur
densome duty, the right to signalize
their approach by burning a few viii
lagos. This, they thought, would not
make the emperor less strenuous to
require their attendance.
This curious ceremony in the in-
sstallation of the COrinthean dukes
continued to be pTacticed until the
time OF Duke Earnest in 14l4.-FTonl
The AIdiRe for October.