Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-01-25
- eAmolas an ordnance r.
= fresh meat
The Splendid En-. ot u,a .fby Lord

The S'''H''d rssliilyely at the y '''''
Two episodes in J1nton's dis
tinguished history :. :, kpecial atten-
ton. The first is the Hinton tourna-
ment. which took place ia August 1882;
the second, his Brilliant career Is twice
lord Lieutenant OF Ireland. At the time
of the famous tournament Lord Eglin-
ton was in his twenty -sevegth year and
ono Of the handsomest and most engag-
ing men Of his day His desire was 10
produce in his own park modern imi-
tation OF such a tournament as that de-
scribed by Sir Walter Scott in Ivan
hoe, Z" and neither expense nor research
was spared to makoitagrea and unique
success. Preparations Ior it and the fes-
tivities which accompanied it cost about
$40, 600. but the munifcent host omit
ted from his calculations all thought of
the English climate which so marred
the enjoyment Of tho countless guests
that the vast expenditure was III great
measure thrown away. The arena, or
scene of action, covered four acres, and
two enormous galleries were. erected on
either side, the first to accommodate
the earl's private guests, and the second
for invited spectators, to whom tickets
were sent gratuitously by his orders.
Nearer the castle two vast canvas sa-
looms were set apart for the banqueting
hall and ballroom, while each Of the
knights had his own marquee. The dec
orations Of the lists were OF the costliest
description, and at the request OF the
noble host most Of tho visitors came at
tired in medieval costume.
The grand stand was filled with la
dies splendidly attired in the costumes
of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
to whom on entering the list each knight
in succession paid his deyoir At p.
m, in the midst Of drenching shower,
the procession started from the castle,
but the pitiless rain marred all the
splendor of the costly preparation. In
stead of riding on her palfrey to her
throne, tho queen Of love and beauty
and her ladies were forced to take shell
ter in carriages, aud as they approached
the jousting ground a spectacle met
their eyes which elected uncomfortable
shouts Of laughter from tho spectators
surrounding the lists.
There, firmly planted upon hi5Saailed
war charger, sat in unconscious dignity
the Marquis Of Londonderry, clad from
head to foot in FURNISHED armor for
which he had been measured by cunning
Milanese artifcers, in steel inlaid with
gold, the cost Of his panoply being, it
is said, at least q, 600. The marquis
was short, stout old man, and above
his head he held an enormous gingham
umbrella to protect him from the peit-
ings Of the merciless storm.
Despite the weather, several jousting
matches took place, and, among others,
the Earl Of Eglinton, clad in "a splendid
panoply Of brass, got the best Of the
Marquis of Waterford, upon whose
breast he broke two spears. Alright 1t
was announced that the banqueting hall
and the ballroom, constructed out Of
canvas tents, We're so saturated by the
heavy rain that it was impossible to en-
ser them. On the afternoon Of the sec
ond day the weather cleared, but the
sports were confined to the ball tent, in
which Prince Louis Napoleon, after
ward the Emperor Napoleon III, engaged
in q series Of mimic combats on foot
against Mr. (afterward sir Charles
Lamb, both combatants being sheathod
in armor. On the third and last day the
proceedings ended with a general melee,
in which the knights, armed with
swords, met their opponents in an am
ioable fray. 1t was soon seen, however,
that the blows exchanged between the
derry Marquis of Waterford and Wis
count Afford were so far from being
amicable that the combatants were sep
arated by the Intervention Of the knight
marshal. On the fourth day the rain
was so incessant that by universal con-
sent the mimic conflict was given up
So ended the great Eglinton tourna-
ment after bringing together con-
course of spectators variously estimated
at from so, 600 to 200, 600 persons. In
addition to the vast sum spent upon it
by Lord Eglinton, the tournament at
tracted eager sightseers from all parts
of the United Kingdom, who paid
heavily to get there while the CONT
nent, the colonies and the United States
were well represented As if to cover
the whole affair with ridicule very
humorous account Of the mock fighting
and of the attempted imitation Of old
Yorld chiyalry was written for an Amer
lean journal by the late Mr.. n. P. Will
lis, a fitting exponent Of such bizarre
scene. To their dying hour many Of the
southern visitors never forgot what
Scotland is capable Of in the way Of rain
during the autumn months.-London
Telegraph.