Maiden of honor

“ For if it be a great and noble thing to leave the mark of an honoured name upon the revolving ages of this world, how much greater and nobler is it to rise above it by unsullied chastity both of heart and of body! Let this maiden, therefore, illustrious in her pedigree, yet more illustrious in her piety, find greater joy in obtaining, through espousals to her divine Lord, a pre-eminent glory in heaven, than she could have had in becoming, through espousal to a human consort, the mother of a line of illustrious men. ”

“ The sex, the youth, the accomplishments, the graces, the past misfortunes of the princess, all served to heighten the interest with which she was beheld: the age of chivalry had not yet expired; and in spite of the late unfortunate experience of a female reign, the romantic image of a maiden queen dazzled all eyes, subdued all hearts, inflamed the imaginations of the brave and courtly youth with visions of love and glory, exalted into a passionate homage the principle of loyalty, and urged adulation to the very brink of idolatry. ”

“ The dignity and sacredness of wise and gracious womanhood will at length assert itself; and as the maiden gradually rises into a true aid and companion for man in his advanced intellectual and material condition, so the youth will have to make, and will rejoice in making, greater moral sacrifices to win her,—will scorn all baser passion, and fling himself a stainless knight at his shining lady's feet. ”

“ Ye saw him at morning, how gallant and gay!
In bridal adorning, the star of the day;
Now, weep for the lover—his triumph is sped,
His hope it is over! the chieftain is dead!
But, O! for the maiden who mourns for that chief,
With heart overladen and rending with grief!
She sinks on the meadow—in one morning-tide,
A wife and a widow, a maid and a bride!
Ye maidens attending, forbear to condole!
Your comfort is rending the depths of her soul:
True—true, 'twas a story for ages of pride ”

“ Meet me then, my own true maiden,
Where the wild flowers shed their bloom
And the air with fragrance laden,
Breathes around a rich perfume.
With my true love as I wander,
Captive led by beauty's power,
Thoughts and feelings sweet and tender
Hallow that delightful hour.
Give ambition dreams of glory,
Give the poet laurell'd fame,
Let renown in song and story
Consecrate the hero's name;
Give the great their pomp and pleasure,
Give the courtier place and power;
Give to me my bosom's treasure,
And the lonely gloaming hour.
OH, LEAVE ME NOT.
Oh, leave me not! ”

“ None, but the Almighty, heard her fervent pray’rs:
No earthly being could see her faithful tears.
(Enough! enough!—come, check thy heaving breast:
Sigh not, fond maiden,—lovers have no rest
Ere they have some one to share half their fate;
And thou art chosen for that happy state.)
Courage commanded her—“rise, gentle maid!”
Her heart felt lighter, and her tears were stay’d.
* * * * *
Virtue’s reward:—say, Jove, what is the prize?—
What canst thou give? ”

“ I have known old maids in abundance, with pathos and sunshine in their lives; but the old maid of novels I never have met, who abandoned her soul to gossip,—nor yet the other type, a lifelong martyr of unselfishness. They are mixed generally, and are not unlike their married sisters, so far as I can see. Then as to men, certainly I know heroes. One man, I knew, as high a chevalier in heart as any Bayard of them all; one of those souls simple and gentle as a woman, tender in knightly honor. ”

“ The Maid went forth with a greater glory and honour than has, methinks, ever been bestowed upon woman before--certainly upon no humbly-born maiden of seventeen years. Some said that she was actually ennobled in her own person by the grant to quarter the lilies of France, and that her brothers ranked now amongst the knights and nobles. Others declared that she had refused all personal honours, and that she still remained a humble peasant, though so high in the favour of the King, and so great a personage in the realm. ”

“ The heart of a young maiden in every nation is soft and susceptible, and, when besieged by love and compassion, is too certain to yield. The maiden made the warrior repeat over and over again his promises of affection and constancy, as if they would be a security against any unfortunate consequence of the imprudence she was going to commit. ”

“ Mademoiselle will believe that if I only dared assure myself that so great a happiness and honor were really intended for me, my gratitude would be as lasting as my life. But how dare I believe that Mademoiselle does not speak, rather from her own sympathy or goodness, than from a certainty that the Countess de St. Alyre would concede so great an honor? ”

“ THE maid who binds her warrior’s sash, With smile that well her pain dissembles, The while beneath her drooping lash One starry tear-drop hangs and trembles, Though heaven alone records the tear, And fame shall never know the story, Her heart has shed a drop as dear As e’er bedewed the field of glory. ”

“ The maid of honour longs to tell him all the interest she feels for him, her genuine admiration, her devotion, her pity for his desolate condition; but she is new to court life, and, like himself, she is too timid as yet to put her feelings into words. ”

“ Within, she nursed her flower of maidenhood,
Sweet girlish thoughts and virginal desire:
No woman’s head so keen to work its will
But that the woman’s heart is mistress still.
Three years she ruled a nation well content
To have a maiden queen ”

“ Madam, honour is inborn with you, for your lineage is such that no title, whether of queen or empress, could be an increase of nobility; yet your beauty, grace, and virtue are well deserving of pleasure, and she who robs you of what is yours does a greater wrong to herself than to you, seeing that for a glory which is turned to her shame, she loses as much pleasure as you or any lady in the realm could enjoy. ”

“ O my trusted, truthful maiden,
Servant-maid to me belonging,
Call together all my people,
Call the heroes to my banquet,
Ask the rich, and ask the needy,
Ask the blind and deaf, and crippled,
Ask the young, and ask the aged ”

“ She is one who is always amongst the first in the temples at grand ceremonies, and the very sight of you, fair maiden, about to be vowed to the highest service, will fill her old heart with pride that she is allowed to touch your hand. ”

“ For when a maiden is thus stern,
Virtue in truth has less concern
In this, than an inconstant will.
1767-9. ——- TRUE ENJOYMENT.
VAINLY wouldst thou, to gain a heart,
Heap up a maiden's lap with gold;
The joys of love thou must impart,
Wouldst thou e'er see those joys unfold.
The voices of the throng gold buys,
No single heart 'twill win for thee;
Wouldst thou a maiden make thy prize,
Thyself alone the bribe must be.
If by no sacred tie thou'rt bound,
Oh youth, thou must thyself restrain!
Well may true liberty be found,
Tho' man may seem to wear a chain. ”

“ When we learn to look upon her, not as a divinity, or even as an angel, but simply as a woman and a mother, we shall see how, in the honor put upon her, honor is done to all womanhood and all motherhood. ”

“ The development of the maiden is like the opening of some lovely flower-bud. As life unfolds, the tender smile and blush of childhood mingle with the grace of maidenly repose; the upturned, radiant eye gathers new depths of thought and emotion ”

“ And the lords and ladies of honor Were plagued, awake and in bed; The queen she got them upon her, The maids were bitten and bled. And they did not dare to brush them, Or scratch them, day or night: We crack them and we crush them, At once, whene'er they bite. ”

“ Considering the opportunities that the maiden had of forgetting conscience and honour, and the virtue she displayed in all these opportunities and temptations by subduing her heart, will, and even him whom she loved better than herself, I say that she might well be called a strong woman. ”

“ How a maiden in her dying consecrated Love for me!
Then I left her there alone, with the roses for her throne,
And I gathered Love within me for the roses he had blown,—
And in the silent sunrise, Beauty gathered in her own.
[23]
Dig Deep
Dig deep, and tumble in the bones! ”

“ He couldn't be here at your funeral when he's had one of his own."
"Quite right," agreed the Queen, and quoted "‘the faithful Rissole slain'."
"He can be a Maid of Honour then," she added. "Venus, be a Maid of Honour—and try and look like one. . . . Get him that big doll's-nightdress or something. He doesn't look a bit like a Maid of Honour as he is. . . . And tie that black hair-ribbon on his tail, for mourning. . . . Now, I'm ready," and the Queen stepped on to the scaffold. ”

“ Exeunt Paulo and Camiola.
Rob. She well deserves
Her name, the Maid of Honour! May she stand,
To all posterity, a fair example
For noble maids to imitate! Since to live
In wealth and pleasure's common, but to part with
Such poison'd baits is rare; there being nothing
Upon this stage of life to be commended,
Though well begun, till it be fully ended. ”

“ The title of “Maid of Honour” is given to an unmarried lady attached to the personal suite of a queen. The custom of sending young girls of noble or good birth to the court of a prince or feudal superior, for the purpose, primarily, of education, goes back to early feudal times, and is parallel with the sending of boys to act as pages and squires to the feudal castles. The regular establishment of maids of honour (filles d’honneur) appears first in the royal court of France. This has usually been attributed to Anne of Brittany, wife of Charles VIII. ”

“ Unspoken, they will feed upon the cheek and eye, and the grave have thee ere thou hast attained manhood."
The youthful secretary was silent a few moments, and then said, with an attempt to smile,
"I have a tale of love, but not of mine."
"I will hear it, and then tell thee if I think it thine or no."
"There was once a noble maiden, the heiress of an earldom, who loved a peasant youth, handsome and brave, and the nobility he gat not by birth nature endowed him with. The maiden was proud and independent of spirit, and loved him for himself—for title, wealth, and rank she thought not!" ”

“ Madonnas of Many Lands International Film Service A MADONNA OF SORROW AT HER SON'S GRAVE If the sympathy of the civilized world cannot still the anguish of the moment, the ages to come will venerate such heroic women who taught their sons the highest bravery, the finest courtesy, the loftiest honor—and who gave their all for France. ”

“ Woman's honor, you ask? Is there, sir, no dishonor In the smile of a woman, when men, gazing on her, Can shudder, and say, "In that smile is a grave"? No! you can have no cause, Duke, for no right you have In the contest you menace. That contest but draws Every right into ruin. By all human laws Of man's heart I forbid it, by all sanctities Of man's social honor! The Duke droop'd his eyes. "I obey you," he said, "but let woman beware How she plays fast and loose thus with human despair, And the storm in man's heart. ”

“ Every maiden conceals a fairer flower and more luscious fruit than any calyx in the field, and if she go with averted face, confiding in her own purity and high resolves, she will make the heavens retrospective, and all nature will humbly confess its queen. ”

“ And thus spake the noble maiden, 'Now had it but been God's will,
That I, a man born, might sword bear, and knightly tasks fulfil,
To strive with me hadst thou come here, methinks thou hadst come too late,—275
But now am I all defenceless, a maiden, and no man's mate.
And yet a shield I carry, and fair its device shall be,
And honoured of all—Its blazon would I read here, Sir King, to thee,
That thou henceforth mayst know it—Pure heart and upright mind,
That true man beneath its cover a shelter may ever find. ”

“ Can I help honouring such a queen, and insisting on her being honoured, when her meanest subjects are encouraged by those who should be patterns of loyalty, to watch her conduct and revile her name?—Consider, aunt, I bear her name! Should that not bind me to her?”
“Not more than we are all bound by God having placed her on the throne. To say that she is Queen is to express our duty to her. Of that duty there is no question, my dear. The question is, how most faithfully to fulfil that duty, together with the duty of the King’s subjects to one another, and to generations to come. ”

“ When the Duke asked her to be his wife she graciously consented, and her Duchess's coronet seemed assured thus early, with a prospect of happiness that does not always accompany it; for in this case she seems to have given her heart where she gave her hand. For a time the course of true love ran smoothly, and the maid-of-honour became a model of decorum as the affianced wife of the man she loved. ”

“ The Maid of Honor rose to her feet sharply. “And that’s quite all he is. Oh, I don’t ask that he shall do anything so wonderful,” she defended, catching up his pet spaniel, and pulling its ears with a mixture of affection and intense impatience, “I don’t ask that he shall ride to wars, or build huge palaces, or squander fortunes over pageantry. I ask simply that he show some signs of humanness, that he be a man,{182} any sort of a man, anything rather than a dummy! ”

“ CASTIZA How hardly shall that maiden be beset Whose only fortunes are her constant thoughts, That has no other child's part but her honour That keeps her low and empty in estate. Maids and their honours are like poor beginners: Were not sin rich there would be fewer sinners. ”

“ The maids-of-honor crowded forward like a nose-gay of sweet-scented flowers, eager to do better than the knights in the construction of this invisible wall; for being women they were quicker than their brothers and husbands to understand what the Wizard meant. ”

“ It is too fine, too costly for such as I. I am but a peasant maid--"
"You are the chosen of the King of Heaven, my child. You must think also of that. You are now the leader of the King's armies. You have to do honour alike to a Heavenly and an earthly Monarch; and shall we let our champion go forth without such raiment as is fitting to her mission?"
Then the Maid bent her head, and answered with sweet gladness:
"If it is thus that the world regards me, I will wear these trappings with a glad and thankful heart; for in sooth I would seek to do honour to His Majesty. ”