The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1884-01-05
THE ROMANCE. OF VOWS.
Some Queer Promises and Pledges
Made by Eccentric Humanity.

The annals of chivalry abound in rec
ords of vows, more or less romantic or
absurd. For instance, Queen Joan of
Naples, at grand feast at her Castle
of Garta, honored the Knight Galeazzo,
of Mantua, by opening the ball with
him. When the dance was finished the
grateful knight knelt down before his
royal partner, and to fifty express his
acknowledgement of the honor he had
received he took solemn VOW to wan
der through the world, visiting every
country where feats of arms were per-
formed, and not rest until he had SUBJ
dued two valiant knights and present
ed them as prisoners at his queens
footstool, to be disposed of at her
royal pleasure. Sure enough, the
doughty warrior, after year spent in
wandering all over Europe, returned
like cat with mouse in her mouth,
and laid his two prisoners at the feet
of Queen Joan. The queen took the
gift very gracefully, and, the admiring
historian tells us, declined her right
to impose vigorous conditions on her
captives, and gave them liberty with
out ransom" Whether they properly
punished Sir Galeazzo for his interfer-
ence with his personal rights we are |
not told.
Some regard a VOW as a restraining
bond of very elastic character, in
deed, especially when it interferes with
their desires.
Benedick, when he found his VOW of
celibacy too great strain upon him in
the presence of his Beatrice's charms,
disposes of it fearlessly and finally
with the plea: ''When l said 1 would
die bachelor 1 did not think that l
should live till l were married"
Often we have the letter of the VOW
evaded with some special reasoning,
and the spirit then broken with i'm
punity. For instance, a modern Rip
Van Wrinkle vowed that he would never
drink another drop of liquor as long as
he had hair on his head. A few hours
later he was met coming out of bar
Der shop with a poll as hairless as that
of babe.
Voltaire tells in one of his romances
Of widow who vowed she would never
marry again ''as long as the river flows
by the side of the hill"
Damsels in love often make strange
VOWS. We all remember the case of
Door Miss Harrisham, in Dickens story,
who was so overcome by her lovers
allure to appear at the welding that she
ordered everything in the house to be
Kept unchanged as it had been on that
lapless day. Years went by, the we'd
ling feast remained set on the table, :
he rich cakes nodded and were eaten
~ the mice, while the poor, half de-
nented lady fitted in and out of the
deserted rooms OF the house like a
host always wearing the white dress
nd veil (which she had put on to well
ONE the faithless lover who never
anne.
A similar case to this was that of a
ady of high rank in England, who, be-
10 Tilted by her lover, went to bed and
owed she never would get up again,
nd kept her word for twenty-siX years.
less eXcusable case than this was
lat of a man, who, finding that his
life was disposed to demand too much
ard work of him, took to his bed with
lie avowed determination to stay there.
nd for twenty-five years this worth
SIS old scamp staid between the sheets,
lille his wife waited upon him and fed
IN and fed him with persistent devo-
on.
Vows of perpetual silence are nu- I
erous, the only trouble being that
ose who need this vow most do not
Ike it. Miss Caroline Brewer in 1910
WED she never would speak another
ord to human being because she had
quarrel with her lover. For thirty
re years, until the day of her death,
e was never known to utter word.
,me years ago three sisters lived to- I
.ther. Two of them quarreled and Y
wed never to speak to each other T
ain. They did not speak for over L
-enty years, when one of them died,
e other refusing to speak to her even
ba,. Iaath bod