Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-06-13
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FFldsv AsteFneen. June -.
OUR MODERN KNIGHTs-oUR FASHION OF
TOURNAEEHTs.

Upon ne subject il critic so smart as on that
which he does not at all cempsehand, His Pod
snap methods come there into fullest action, and
his oondemnA'ion' sArceant ana csn'empt are
Permit us to commend these considerations
to someof our neishbors. who find oscasionlfor
80 much brilliant criticism. In the recent Tour
nanqent" Of our pslasAFeti Knights" Vt Suffolk
Park. We are justified in the suggestion, be-
cause wears sure they neither fairly consider
nor fully understand the merits of the question.
These Tournaments" are long way behind
the older ones ofthe Days of Ohivslry, it is
complained. They certainly are different; but
theEdimefence, to our mind, is quite as likely to
be in favor OF our modern Journeys. The older
Knights were species Of highway-robbers, q
modihed sort of pirates while onrs ase honest
and psaceable gentlemen. If there is anything
Admirable IA the business of bloodshed and rs-
pine, then the old Knights we're the better men /;
Il not, not, for the only characteristic lacking in
our present demonstration is that ofprofessiqnsl
fighting In the days of Ceur de-Lion, the filters
followed that business those Of Delaware, in
1873, do not .r. .-....f. 5.
Lacking this characteristic. our Tournaments
may seem tame to some, but they preserve, it
appears to US, whatever of good there was in the
old-fashioned affair, These elements of good
are not fanciful, but actual. They include in
the first place, cultivation of the ideal, roman
tic-"chivalrous," if you Plesse-in the chsrac-
ter of gentleman, and surely this is no little
thing "fhe grind Of life is base and hard, and
utilitarian, enough, TO need some exalting ele-
ment-somethiHg that hghtens, and enlivens,
ane ennoblss. We know we'll enough, that no
one can satisfy good appetite with roses, but
he who only cultivates his potato crop, and has
no notion of what is more beautiful, may be 8
very practical" man, but withal is . very i'm
perfect specimen Of humanity
STp apply ithls more plainly, We mean to dis
tinctly say that we think these ideas OF " Chival
ry add desirable element to the character of
young men. They may take in too much Of it,
but moderate quantity is likely to elevate and
refine them.
Descending from this, the practice of horse
manship Is much to be praised. Our Del aware-
ans, who rode at Suffolk Park are fine equestri-
ans, and these Tournaments encourage and train
them to further skill. Where in Pennsylvania,
will our critical neighbors please tell Us, can you
gather in single neighborhood, twenty young
men, accustomed to horsemAnship in the saddle
The practice has gone out Of date in all the
older Northern States, People ride in carriages,
but not on horseback. The young men are no
longer graceful masters of the horse. This
healthy elegant, and elevating exercise has given
place to the enervating and weak one of carriage
riding. 1t takes man to ride horse, WE'LL but
any baby can go in q carriage.
Suffolk Park is the common resort OF horse
triers Several times aweek, hundreds of peo-
pie gather there to see the races. Strangely
enough the newspapers that were so amused and
80 severe about the Tournament, report these
trials of speed, with the ribbons" in the hands
of the'ioOkeys," with great seriousness, as q
matter OF profound public interest, and the pool
selling and betting, and general attendant gam
bling are apparently no cause of offence to
them. And yet compared with the Tournament
of our Knights of st. George, where is there q
single particular in which the latter is not to be
preferred The horse-raoe is in every respect
made mean and discrsditable, by the compari-
son.
All subjects should be examined before they
are criticised.