The Washington herald., 1911-06-14

Reading so much lately about court
receptions, royal entertainments and mat
tiers connected with court customs, anent
the approaching coronation, It win be of
interest to learn something Of the first
court function of the kind ever recorded
and with which our present day AFFAIRS
cannot vie in romantic penchant 1t was
held by Eleanor of CASTLE. Queen OF
Edward I OF England at Conway Castle,
whittier she had repaired from carnar-
Won after the birth OF the first Prince
OF Wales.
It was the fair Castilian who introduced
the ceremonious etiquette of her native
Spain into English court life. 1t was
her custom mornings, after rising and
having performed the first portions Of
her toilet, to hold reception In her state
bedroom, which was fitted up with all
the elegance OF that period. Imagine
such scene in ancient Conway Castle.
The Queen in graceful, flowing robes
seated in semi-state in an arched recess
within the embrasure of an oriel window
filed with colored glass, through which
the sunlight streamed upon her glossy
hair. While her ''tire-women" eombed
and braided and fastened sparkling gems
among her tresses, she held her levee
and received, according to the chronicles
of the time, the ladies qualified to be
presented
In the oriei where she sat
Closed well with royal glass;
Filled 1t with imagery,
Every window, BY and by.
The ladies who went to kiss her hand
- L. l..
be the wives and daughters of gallant
knights and loyal chieftains, while rever-
end abbesses and progresses. in their
somber robes. would mingle with the gay
throng of ladies. for Eleanor was noted
for her piety and her charity.
Such was the germ of the modern
drawing-room and court. For through
out the days of chivalry ladies were
received at court because of the valor
Of their lords and the fame of their own
virtue and beauty; but unfortunately
there were no journals of fashionable in
telligence to preserve for future courtiers
the usages attending presentations to
monarchs in medieval days Gentlemen
who had done valuable service in war or
in affairs of state were summoned to at
tend The court and brought their ladies
with them.
At the festival of st. George at Wind
sor hundreds of ladies attended the re-
ceptions of Queen Philippa and Joined
in the festivities. The debutante OF that
period beamed her smiles upon the vic
tors In the jousts and tournaments IN
the great tilt yard. and If there was no
court photographer to portray her beauty
there were minstrels and troubadours to
sing OF her charms.
Before the Reformation, the six great
feast days of the church, particularly
Christmas and Easter, were occasions
when everybody who was anybody at
tended court, and those occasions were
chosen for the introduction OF brides
and marriageble daughters to the notice
Of the Queen. Sunday also was a day
for going TO court. Henry VIII and
Catherine Of Aragon held Sunday after
noon receptions at Greenwich Palace, to
which lords and ladies came In barges.
At the courts OF Queen Bess the people
were divided into the "entree'' and the
general classes. This distinction still
survives. The "entree" company were
the ambassadors and other distinguished
personages to whom the Queen gave pri-
vate audience; the others were II outer
rooms and corridors Of the palace as the
Queen passed through. Those whom she
singled out for recognition knelt before
her.
Drawing-rooms came into vogue after
the Restoration, when It was the Gus
tom Of the royal pair to hold receptions
Upon their return from church. Favored
persons were admitted to an inner room
a Withdrawing room-more private than
the presence chamber, and these recep-
tions became known as drawing-rooms
and gradually evolved into great court
functions
In the reign OF Queen Anne birthday
drawing-rooms were much in fashion,