at hand, we use a pine-tree, one of nature's columns,
which Grecian art at its best could only
copy and idealize. Our knights are not weighted
down with heavy armor, but much more appropriately
attired, for a day like this, in costumes
that recall the picturesqueness, without the discomfort,
of the old knightly harness. For an iron-
headed lance we use a wooden substitute, with
which we transfix rings instead of hearts; while
our trusty blades hew their way through wooden
blocks instead of through flesh and blood. It is
a South Carolina renaissance which has points of
advantage over the tournaments of the olden time."

"I'm afraid, Mr. Warwick," said the lady,
"that you're the least bit heretical about our
chivalry--or else you're a little too deep for me."

"The last would be impossible, Mrs. Newberry;
and I'm sure our chivalry has proved its valor on
many a hard-fought field. The spirit of a thing,
after all, is what counts; and what is lacking
here? We have the lists, the knights, the prancing
steeds, the trial of strength and skill. If our
knights do not run the physical risks of Ashby-
de-la-Zouch, they have all the mental stimulus.
Wounded vanity will take the place of wounded
limbs, and there will be broken hopes in lieu of
broken heads. How many hearts in yonder group
of gallant horsemen beat high with hope! How