Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-17
PLEA FOR THE PICTURESQUE.
WRITTEN FOR THE prspArcH,I

| place. Knebworth House, for now these
many centuries, has been tenanted by noble
families. The great mansion began as a
| castle in the days before the Conquest, and
] has continued on, now. with an addition,
| now with a subtraction, by one pulled down,
by another built up better than ever, grow
| ing like great tree. until it came to be, as
| it Is to-day, one of the most picturesque,
| beautiful and interesting of all the great
| English houses In the room next to mine
Queen Elizabeth slept in the year of the
| Armada. The same old tapestry is still upon
| the walls, and the furniture of carved oak,
black with age, is the same as then. In a
plain chamber in the upper story Bulwer
| Lytton wrote his novels. 1 do not know
whether Owen Meredith wrote "Lucile"
here or in Paris. Anyhoy, he lived here.
The Lyttons for generations have inhabited
| the house.
We were talking in the dining room, three
of us-the host, a member of Parliament and
q parson. over our heads hung two long
lines of emblazoned banners, presented to
the Lyttons by members of the royal fam
lilies of England. At the end, where the
gallery is, hung the largest and most con-
spicuous banner of all, gift to the Lytton
who was Viceroy OF India by Her Majesty,
the Empress Victoria. And in the gallery
was the throne on which Lord Lytton sat
Wueu u0 Tuleu ON0T bud1 STCdb CouAtIy.
What could be more fitting than that the
talk should turn upon the subject of titles
OF nobility!
A Rather Startling Conversation.
THE conversation began, however, not
with the suggestion of the place, but with
question which quite innocently addressed
to the member or Parliament. 81 under
stand,'' said, "that such an one"-naming
a mutual acquaintance-"is to be elevated
to the Peerage." Elevated" he cried,
elevated to the Peeragef 1 consider that
a descent. The highest position that man
can hold in England is to be a member of
the Commons" And thereafter followed
such a TRADE from this radical NJ. P. against
all the venerable institutions of his native
country, as would have delighted the heart
of the most democratic of American citizens.
If he could have his will there would be q
quick end to all artificial aristocracy. The
House of Lords would be turned out of doors
tomorrow. The Church would be disestab-
lished the. day after. And on the third day
measures would be set on foot looking to
the discouragement of millionaires. 1t was
extremity interesting, in Lord Lytton's din
ing room, in the midst of all the associa-
tions of the place, beneath the lines of royal
banners, to hear this socialistic statesman
prophecy the Golden Age. 1 wished that
4Olo Ly Couiu udNO OCcu bhCEO W aCdE
the answer. And, still more, that Lady
Lytton might have been present-the elder
Lady Lytton of the violent temper. She
would, no doubt, have hurried her radical
guest into the outer darkness of the night.
The Talk Recalled by aGown.
Il THOUGHT of my friend, the member
of Parliament the other day. at Washing
ton, at the induction of MI. Justice Shiras.
imagined the comments which he would
have made upon Mr.. Shiras' handsome
gown. For my part, I looked upon the
gown with appreciation. It was the hand
soonest gown which was to be seen that day
upon the Supreme Court bench. And it was
eminently fitting that the best looking man
should have the best looking gown. The
Pittsburg contingent in the court room
were proud of their representative.
In the opinion, however, of q we'll
known newspaper correspondent with
whom talked as we waited for the hour of
u, the wearing of any kind of a gown, good, |
bad or Indifferent, was foolishness and nom
sense and medievalism. Why not wear a wig |
as well? That is what the member from Suth- |
erland would have said. For the member |
for Sutherland, being the holder of sew eral |
honorable local offices in that district, gave |
them up in disgust when the Mayor and |
Councilmen of his town resolved to dig |
nifty themselves by donning these official |
robes. He hated the gown as the Puritan |
hated the surplice. To him it was Tory |
badge. It meant an aping of the worst ex- |
amples of the pernicious in the national |
life.
Difference of Opinion a Good Thing.
This will be a stale, fiat and unbeauti-
full world, fear. if some people ever come
to have their way. Nothing will be allowed /
to exist which cannot give a good, plain,
practical reason for being. There will be
an end to all literature which cannot answer
the question which the Senior Wrangler |
asked about paradise Lost" He wanted
to know what it proved. There will bea
general expulsion of the decorative ele-
ments of social life. We will dine off stout
Dishes which the cook cannot easily break,
and without adornment upon them, and all
of the same shape. What is the sense of
having flower painted on plate that is
meant to hold meat and potatoesf Flowers
will probably be discouraged as
being really Of no practical use. and the sun
will be required by act of Congress to go
down quietly into the night without any of
his present useless display of gorgeous
color The world will be given over to
onotony.
This is what 1t logically comes to. If 1t is
foolish for a Judge to wear a gown because
there is no practical gain by it, it is also
foolish for him-or for anybody else-to
wear a dress coat Why shall the Chief |
Justice of the Supreme Court be restrained,
the weather being warm, from administer
ing Judgment in his shirtsleeves? And
why this stately building in which he sits?
What is the use of the Court House tower at
Pittsburg, or the dome of the Capitol at |
Washington?
The Picturesque Worth Cultivating.
We need to appreciate the decorative
side of lie. We need more realization of
the value of statel1ness, of dignity, of |
courtly manners, of the picturesque. Per-
haps there is more even of practical use in
this than we commonly imagine. For peo-
Pile are affected by dress and circumstance.
knows how good coat makes
difference in the behavior of it's wearer. 1t |
may not, of course, insure absolute justice |
in the Judge to attire him in a black gown,
but nobody will deny think, that dignity
helps justice, and a black gown helps to-
ward dignity.
Anyhow, a gown upon the shoulders of a
Judge is a contribution to the picturesque.
And that is not to be despised. 1 watched
an imposing procession OF Bishops the other
day at Baltimore at the opening service of
the Episcopal General Convention. and it
pleased me to observe that most of the
bishops wore their bright red or purple
hoods. 1t made pleasant and interesting
variation from the monotony OF black and
white. The wisdom of Bishop is not in
creased by advertising his doctors degree
upon his back, but the artistic sense of the
is better satisfied. And that,
contend is worth taking into account. For
human beings are made with more or less
of the picturesque. It is recog-'