Saint Mary's beacon., 1877-12-07

UeAelI ISCfv1Mcl
Itsp pelshaunlea In Lesnar1fspil
Thaat.sivisx Day wss eeislssss i
our sillsGe t9ss grand masked Toarssr
ment and Ball. notices Of which had
ready sPPsaretia our columns. ThsI
progrSMMs was carried out TO The let
ter and everything connected viii Il
passed oG pleasantly and successfully.
The faa wss psrtieipaiedinby the young
men from most Of The sections Of the
county. while Balsinore city ana or
sistes county. Calvert. -hsd their chisal-.
y present. The noniass q The day
was very unpropitious. and fears we're
a one tiae entsrtaised thit Tie sport
wosid have to b postponed. buf about
II e'esDsk the clouds began . liit and
brightes W. and before The eveniDg had
pssset. ~ - shsas s0t., Bat Coz the
bad asssninG . lssss crowd wsuld have
been present . witness he sovel sasir.
A il vas. ths gaaberieG was quite re-
speotsble one. At The sPpo;ated hour.
the knights made their sppesssnee en-
the field in charge Of Col. J. Parran
Crane. Chief Marshal. and Herbert =.
Moore. Esq- Assistant MasshsL The
following gsntlsses scAsd - JvaEss,
lsssc Solomon. w. NJ. Cescosan, ,. D.
Loker. J. +. Smith, J. F. Morgan. The
knights nunbered twenty, and presented
. long column Of "snkassss." which
Vas brought up in the rear by "S.ncho
Para, mounted on q mule. After be-
ing carried through several evofutions.
they were brought up to The Judges
stand to receive the charge of the Ora
tor Of the Day, Enoch B. Abel. Esq.
We will not attempt to comment upon
the admirable speech Of our young
friend. For beauty Of thought and die
ton and taste we have rarely heard it
surpassed on such occasions. Mr.. Abel,
after being introduced by Isaac Solo
mon, Esq. Chief Judge. proceeded as
follows: --- ... -- T..
Gallant Knighfs:-To me il is source
of no little surprise that from amongst
SO many highly accomplished speakers.
who by their superior talents might have
rendered this part Of the days perform
ance paramount to the rest by present.
ing you with feast for the nobler part
OF man. bis intellect, you should have
chosen as your orator one who can lay
such slight claims to your esteem. And
whilst I am not insensible Of the high
degree Of honor you have conferred upon
SO unworthy member Of your commu-
nifty, whilst l duly appreciate this token
Of your regard, ] cannot but express q
fear that the effort Of one so inexpe-
rlenced in the art Of public speaking will
add little to the dignity and importance
OF the day,-nay, will rather dim the
splendor Of its lustre. And were it not
for the sake Of publicly returning you
nv grateful thank, for this manifestation
Of your estecm-were il not for the
thought that all deficiencies on my part
vii! be forgotten in the contemplation
OF that scene IN which you, sir knights,
are the chief actors, / fain would now
yield my place to some one better cal.
culated to discharge the duties Of my
office.
To have the privilege Of addressing
such gallant array Of knights. so re-
fined, so intelligent, so enlightened an
audience as is gathered here TO witness
the chivalric drama you are about to en-
act is an honor of which even the ex-
alted might be proud.
1t is customary, believe, on occas-
ions Of this character, TO lead your minds
back to the days Of chivahy and romance
and recount to you the bold deeds or
adventures Of some Ivanhoe in order to
inspire you with a spirit Of ehivalry.
But to my mind this is custom
Srore honored in the breach than the observance
for the difference between the tournay
of to-day and that Of old is so vast as to
render any comparison highly inappro-
pirate. Again, although I cannot dis
Germ the daring faces concealed behind
your masks, vet I feel that within your
veins circuIates warmly and unrufled
the heroic blood Of noble and illustri-
Gus ancestry. feel that you are the
true and loyal sons Of dear old ST. Ma
rvs, upon whose sacred soil our Pilgrim
Fathers first unfurled the banner OF civil
and religious liberty, and extended the
hand Of welcome to the prosecuted Of
all elimes; therefore, instead of recur-
ring to the middle ages, instead ofseek-
ing from an inappropriate source to in
spire you with spirit of chivslry, let
th,s happy remembrance be the brand
to infiame your bosoms with those en-
nobling feelings which, collectively ia
ken, form an accomplished knight, gal
lantry, courtesy, honor, loyalty, munif-
cence.
The contest in which you are about
to engage is one the dignity and impor-
tance Of which cannot be too highly
rated. 1t is a noble contest because II
engenders a spirit Of gallantry, encour-
ages and intensifes feeling Of respect
aud veneration which is due to woman,
both on account Of the dignity of her
station and the sacrcdness Of her mis-
sion. You are assembled to commem-
crate custom venerated for its antiqui-
tv, honorable, elevatlng, ennobling on