The Bossier banner., 1893-11-23
The Chivalry of To-Day.



iv., 7.
st. Paul has a way of cballeng
ing our admiration. He was Il
doughty knight in the tournament
of ideas, and did brave service for
mankind with what "he that hold
eth the seven stars in his right
hand" referred to as "the sword of
my mouth" Saul of Tarsus was ii
somewhat arrogant scholar, but
when bis leaden soul was transmit
ed into gold by divine alchemy and
he became Paul the Apostle, we find
in him those noble qualities which
in earlier times were assured by the
word "gentlemen"-sturdy manli-
ness combined with Christian cour-
tesy and gentleness. lie was true
to himself, true to God and true 70
the people to whom he ministered.
The word 'gentlemen" has some
what lost its original depth of sig
nificance for us, but two hundred
years ago there was no irreverence
in the lines of Thomas Decker, who
wrote:-
The best of men
| That e'er wore earth about him sufferer,
soft meek. patient, humble, tranquil spirit,
The first true gentleman that ever breathed.
the world draws its magic wand
around all the virtues, and none
may fairly claim the title whose
soul has in it one strain Of coward
ice or whose heart fails by single
beat to respond to the woes, the
wrongs, the hopes of the human
race.
The chivalry of the middle ages
came from the thought in Dekker's
lines. When the world was govern
ed by force and history was written
with the point of spear, the widow
the orphan, the helpless under per-
secution had no appeal from the
iron will or the brutal caprice Of the
feuda lord in his castle. Then was
organized a band of Sir Knights,
who were simply chivalrous gentle
men who roamed the country in
coats of mail. on fry steeds, to
right all wrongs with their swords.
Their motive, their impulse, their
spirit was the same that filled st.
Paul, and in far away fashion the
same that marked "the best of men
that e'er wore earth about him.o
This is simply shown by the
warning which the mother of Bay
ard, sans peru ct sans reproche. gave
her sou when starting on his ca
reer:-"Serve Cod, and he will help
you: be mild and corteous By divest-
ing yourself of all pride; be neither
a fatterer nor slanderer. for such
people seldom come to great excel
lence. Be loyal in words and deeds;
keep your word; be helpful to the
poor and to orphans, and God will
reward YOU"
1t is said by some, not wisely We
think, that chivaIry has become an
historic reminiscence. The love of
instice. however, has increased
rather than diminished. There are
noble men and woman to-day, and
they make a vast congregation.
No holy cause now lacks defenders,
though the cost be heavy; no
threatening evil attacks society but
press and people rush to the rescue.
There is wider and more pract-
ical and effective sympathy for the
oppression than heretofore. There
are no Sir Knights in armor with
drawn swords, for we have found a
better means to accomplish results.
Public opinion, trained to love
of justice, falls like an avalanche on
the oppressor, and when it falls it
crusheS.
The chivalry of our dayszare both
personal and institutional.
Our pity for the wronged, our
hatred of crime, our care of the
poor, our sorrow for the mained are
embodied, first in our courts, where
twelve honest men and true sift the
evidence that right may prevail;
and again in our hospitals, which
swing their doors wide open for the
cure of disease and the relief of
suffering; and still again in our
many charities, which feed the hun
Cry and seek to save the lost.
Chivalrous organizations which
fight the good fight as bravely as
St. Paul did are found in every
quarter of the globe. Not single
horsemen are seen, but men and
woman are banded together, with
willing hands and heavy purses, to
snite as boldly as st. George smote
the dragon. Institutional. chivalry
is the glory of the age.
But there is personal chivalry
also. The more heroic and pathet-
ic instances are flashed over the
wire every day. Deeds are con-
stantly done which the poet would
immortalize in verse if they were
not SO numerous. Nothing is more
common than magnificent seIf-sacri-
| Eo ha re IL