The Portland daily press., 1879-05-20
THE SOUTHERN IDEA OF 1T.
How the Knights Jousted on the New
Burn
For the Press.

l.
There had been mystery in the air for a
week. The young gentlemen gathered in knots
on the street-corners and hotel verandas and
conversed in low, eager voices. The monoto-
ny of existence in our sleepy little Southern
city was disturbed by an indefinable thrill and
ripple of-what?
Itwas like the rustling of leaves that pre-
cedes thunder storm, and it made one equally
nervous. Something was evidently imminent
what was it?
But at last all this plotting, planning and
mystery blossomed in an announcement made
in mammoth letters in our Liliputian daily
newspaper, that there was to be on the 23rd of
January, the grandest of grand Tournaments
in our quiet city.
ga Tournament 1 cried in delight, "some-
thing which have always longed to see. How
charming' And forthwith 1 Immediately
proceeded to interview John Henry (who by
virtue of his many years spent in the South,
knows all about such things), ON the subject,
and to overwhelm him with questions, to all of
which that patient and good-tempered, but
somewhat firm" (ahem! mean obstinate,
but don't quite dare to say SO, fearing that
certain pair of blue eyes may see this paper)
individual answered only,
''Wait and see, little woman. 1 shonld
spoil it all by telling it beforehand"
And with this 1 was forced to be content,
since all the information which 1 could obtain
from other sources was that they were "ele-
CANT and splendid" and ''nice''. Therefore
betook myself to "Idyls of the King 'yand
ip1r II loI ~, hui
ticipations, only mastering up courage to ask
John Henry one more question.
"They do not fight, of course I said doubt
fully, putting my interrogation in the less ag-
gressive form of a suggestion; and John Henry
laughed
"No, indeed" he replied mot for the public
ediication at least. Their chivalric valor is
shown through the medium of poles and rings
you will see it all when the time comes AS
BILE little, privately, among themselves, but
they are amiability itself in public"
And thus reassured 1 hailed the bright
dawning of the eventful day (such day as
only our capricious but, on the whole, good
tempered climate could give in January-a
day like day in a Northern Indian summer
only hotter) with delight, and arrayed in ''pur-
pie and fine linen" betook myself to the scene
of action, which was vacant space up by the
railroad depot.
Everybody was there; all the city people, "a
heap from the surrounding country and adj
joining country and adjoining towns, and even
fright smart from Raleigh itself. The place
was crowded, and such crowd as could only
be gathered together south of Mason and Dix
on's line.
Beautiful women with faces like magnolis
blossom, young girls just blooming into lovely
womanhood, cherubic children, carried around
in the stout arms of their black "mammies''
and from these, every phase of the social scale
represented, down to the yellow, lantern-ia
long-haired 'Dirt-eater'' "a class, by the way
standing far below the negro in popular esti-
mation), and negroes negroes everywhere, of
all kinds, sizes, shades. Little negro boys with
their few rags of clothing held together with
bits of twine and threatening every minute to
present their owners innocent of every apology
for garments to the public eye, ran in and Out
among the crowd and made themselves nui
sances generally, as is the habit of the youth
full male everywhere.
Spruce 'fyaller gals gathered in knots and
surveyed each others clothes critically Oh
pouredout their destinations on some masculine
companion
Broad-bodied "Aunties" pushed their way
along, some laden with walters and baskets
containing pastry rich enough to suit even
Southern palates, others bearing baskets Of
GRO Ioe
but not least the "'skeet" apple dear to Caro-
linian hearts.
Handsome young fellows with an indescri.
bable something about them which would pro-
claim their Southern birth and raising even
if they were met amid the unfriendly frigidity
of far-of Alaska, lounged in carelessly grace
full attitudes against anything that offered suf.
fcient inducements in the way of support, and
debated together concerning the probable re-
suits of the contest.
Bronzed-faced planters moved here and there
with the peculiar Southern stride which takes
them over good deal of ground in shor
space of time, albeit it seems, to superficial
observer, to be a rather lazy style of locomotio1
than otherwise. Sharp-faced, keen-eyed North
ern men-living exemplifications of business
from head to foot, and seeming more brisk an6
busineSs-like than ever in contrast to their in
dolent, easy-going brethren of the South-trav-
eled around among the throng with almost flea
like restlessness and and activity,-and the ON.
nipresent Drummer was there also, at least
a dozen of him, dressed as usual in faultless at
tire and bedecked with amazingly magnificent
watch-chain, sleeve buttons, and shirt studs
and occupied as usual in staring the pretty girls
and ladies out of countenance.
And among all this heterogeneous throng
there "lived and moved and had his being" a
"Marshal'-a manly, handsome young fellow
with that takingly melancholic expression o.
countenance with which Thaddeus of Warsaw
made himself so irresistible. This Marshal
mounted upon one of the handsomest horses
that it was ever my lot to see-had, apparently
his hands about as full as it was possible for the
hands of mortal man to be.
My sympathies (and woman is pre-eminently
a sympathetic creature) were with that melan-
choly marshal from the irst-he had such a
fearful load of responsibility upon his shoul-
ders. He had to see to see to everything-to be
everywhere at once-to keep the crowd in order
to prevent juvenile negroes from being IRE
trievably smashed under wheels and hoofs, and
also to prevent his own mischievously inclined
quadruped from pounding them into powder
himself
On the whole his position was no sinecure
and I am quite sure that long before the day
was over he quite agreed with poor Anne Bull
len:
"Verily swear tits better to be lowly born
And range with humble ivers in content
Ihan to be perked up in gstening GRIEF d. c. the
trying, though honorable, position of Marshall
And wear golden sorrow" Il. c. the aforesaid
Marshals badge)
But at last, in spite of the crowd and the carri-
ages, and the dogs and the small boys, by cling
ing to John Henry's strong arm in blind con-
fdence, was borne safely through it all and
was finally landed in our reserved seats'' (Oh
shade of King Arthur!-reserved seats at a
TournamentD on the platform cars, metamor
phosed into ''dress circle for the time being
just opposite the judges stand; and once there
settled my frizzes, drew long breath, and
looked about me.
Was this Tournament? Before me was
beaten track, just opposite was the judges
stand; below that, to the left, motley collsc
ton of vehicles from dainty basket phaetons tC