A Court's Influence for Good.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1049, 24 June 1902, Page 3 (Supplement)

A Court's Influence for Good.

! " Munsey," the leading and most popular American magazine, writeß as follows There always has been a disposition, especially in republican countries, to scatT at royal courts, and lo regard tliem as hot-beds of petty intrigue, of hypocrisy, of vanity, and of profligacy. To such an extent is this the case that the very word , "courtier " has come to be looked | upon as a term of reproach, imply ; ing a fawning, dishonorable, and

. contemptible disposition. As a i IVm M er u* ' s . a vc ' r y prejudiced and unjust view. J \\ hue there is much in the atmosphere of court life that tends to develop the vices mentioned, since the tenure of ; court others usually depends upon a royal favor that is some . tunes capricious and unstable, on the other hand the existence of a court undoubtedly does much to maintain a certain . standard of morality, of honor, and of manners In medieval times all that was most' brilliant, enlightened, and intellectual centred about the Roval and Imperial Courts, and their influence contributed 10* civilise , the classes as well as the masses. When Charles V. made his I triumphal entry into Douai, the local authorities, in deference | to the sentiments of delicacy on the part of his Court, I actually went to the length of putting a clean shirt upon the rotting body of a malefactor, which was hanging in chains at the city gate as a warning to evil doers. To this day the knowledge that connection with any serious scandal entails exclusion from Court is sufficient to constitute a very salutory restraint upon the behavior of society in monarchical countries.