The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-06-05
ROMANCE OF THE PEERAGE.
Why Englishmen are Fond of Thei



Why Englishmen are Fond of Their
Nobility.
Much in England that has the SEM
)lance of mere snobbery and servility is |
Tue to sort of reverence for the histo- /
y and romance of the country. Nearly |
I'll the titles in England are full of sug- |
5estlveness, as linking the present with |
grand eras and scenes which shaped the
country to its present civilization. The
Deerage still represents the romance of
every school-boy and schoolgirl, and
hardly week passes but some item ap-
pears IN the papers calculated to awaken
their interest and curiosity concerning
the old families by which they are sur
For example, the Will of the
late Countess Of LOudon has been pub
lshed, IN which she directs that her
right hand shall be cut off and buried
IN bennington park, with a stone cross
over 1t, bearing the family motto: 81
hyde my tyne" The story behind this
Singular provision is as follows In
early days a usurper seized Downing
ton, the seat of the Loudon family, and
held possession. But once, on the occa-
sion of a banquet of the usurper and
his retainers, the lawful owner of the
castle gained admission in the disguise
of a server, and with him some faithful
comrades. The serving of the banquet
being impatiently demanded by the
usurper, this lawful owner and disguised
lord cried out, "I bide my time" and
at the same moment bulls head-the
ancient symbol of death-was thrown
upon the table. Then the usurper and his
friends were attacked and killed. The
family is now poor, and the once great
house on its last legs. It eliminated in
influence with the second Earl of MORA
and first Marquis of Hastings, the cele-
brated governor general of India. It
reached its lowest ebb with its last male
heir, and the castle, with the old motto
on it, is supposed to have indicated a
hope for the restoration of it's ancient
greatness.
Last month, also, died Lord KingsaIe,
and the announcement is accompanied
by the reminder that his is the only
family which has the privilege of re-
naming covered in the presence Of the
sovereign. He was the premier baron of
Ireland, and, as he died unmarried, his
title passes to his cousin, John AImeri-
Gus Fitzroy De COurcy, who will be
thirty-frst of the title. Now follows in
innumerable homes a rehearsal of the
SbOII VI bL0 lGdE1GSS LIE NJOuICY
how false King John "a. D. 1199-1216)
threw him in prison how, when the
king, accused of the death of Arthur of
Brittany by the king of France, and
with demand for satisfaction on his
hands, could get no warrior to cross the
channel for q single combat how his
fair queen advised that De Courcy
should be brought from his dungeon,
! and how when the knight was asked he
said, 81 will fight for the honor OF
England, but not for false King John >
how the knights of France bit the dust,
and De Courcy returned, with the fol
lowing results:
"In the ears of the craven monarch
Off must this burthen ring
Tho the crown be thine and the royal line,
He is in thought thy kingp
So they gave this graceful honor
To the bold De COurcy's race,
That they ever should dare their helms to
wear
Before the kings own face:
And the sons of that line of heroes
To this day their right assume,
For, when every head is unbonneted,
They walk in cap and plume!'
And so, when the new Lord KingsdaIe
appears the youth of England viii not
behold a mere mediocre man, as he no
doubt IS, but q nine-huudred- years old
BIT OF the age OF chIValry.
That is but one among the nobility
particularly in Ireland-which once had
a meaning. One of these is the Gus
tom at the castle of the Earl of Kove of
/ letting down the draw bridge before the
| portal whenever the family takes a
meal. The legend connected with this
custom is that when the fair Gwendo.
line (Grace) was queen of the Hebrides,
I fooT1 a fnnT1Co1,1 &,
once visited the rival kingdom in the
west of Ireland, of which the Earl OF
Kove was the chief. She was weary and
hungry, and sent her attendants to Kove
castle to ask for hospitality. It was re
fused. In going away she met little
boy in rich attire, the young heir of the
Earl of Kove, whom she seized and bore
away to the Hebrides. For years The
proud earl and his lords and soldier
tried to get back this captive youth b.
force, but failed. At last they were re
duced to appeal to Gwendoline to re
store him on her own conditions. Sht
replied that she had been refused hos
pitality by an Earl of Kove, and sh
would surrender his son and heir ONLY
on condition that, if any of her subjects
or of their descendants, should ever ap
proach Kove castle and ask for food
they should be entertained with tn
best that the castle could afford for tia
proudest guest. At that time all tn
northwest of Ireland paid allegiance t.
Queen Gwendoline. The Earl of Kov,
agreed to these terms, and to thi
day not only is the draw let down anC
the gate kept open during every meal
but, if any person from Dublin or tn,
northwest chooses to enter, plate is a
once laid for him, and he is invited t.
partake, even though the earl may a
the time be giving a fine dinner-party
Whether anybody ever ayails himsel
now of the privilege is doubtful. Bu
it is in good part the maintenance o
such old Legendary customs, and thei
celebration in village ballads, which
preserves that atmosphere of romans
around the nobility which continues t.
impress the mind of each generation
and which renders it possible for ever
educated people to echo the sentimen
of Lord John Manners famous distich
LET laws and learning, wealth and commerce
die,
But leave US still our old nobility"
The Farming of the FuEure