Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1863-11-18
81 bring tidings of your long-lost brother,

bring tidings of your long-los brother,
Ralph the Crusader
Reginald started 10 his feet-his face
glowed crimson with eaeerness; the next
moment he became pale as a sheet, but speed
lily recovered himself, resumed his seat. and
spoke:
Palmer, what canst thou tell me of nv
dead brother?"
-" That your brother is not dead, but is now
| alive, and hopes, through your endeavors, to
be once more in England
These are startling and almost over
| whelming tidings you bring; but how may
be assured of their truth ?"
By these tokens" said the palmer; and
. he produced from his bosom chain of gold
with seal on which was engraved the crest
| OF the St. Quintys, ring with a silver de-
vice, silver brooch with a lock of the hair
of Reginald's mother. All these the Lord of
Hornby Castle recognized as the property of
his brother
Yes" continued the palmer, after the as
constituent and satisfaction OF Reginald had
been expressed, your brother was taken, in
an insensible condition, from the field of
Askalon, b. some men of the Soldan's body
guard, who had returned to seek for one of
their masters household. His wound was
carefully attended to, and at the end of three
months he was quite recovered. | must now
inform YOU that | myself was taken prisoner,
and by my skill as a leech | had the good
fortune to attract the notice and gain the
favor of the Sedan. CHANGING to see your
brother as | passed through the prison, | re-
cogniZed him AZ a countryman, spoke TO him,
and learned who he was. | became interested
in him, interceded with the Sedan on his
behalf, and had the qualification of procuring
his release from confinement. More than
this, | so far succeeded with the Sedan as to
get his promise that the payment of
ransom Ralph de St. Quintys should be re-
stored To England and to liberty. And this,
my Lord of Hornby, is the cause Of my mis-
sion TO your castle"
Having expressed his heartfelt gratitude to
the venerable palmer, Reginald eagerly asked
what was the amount OF the ransom de
handed
Zone thousand pounds III silver" replied
the venerable pilgrim" That is the very
lowest sum that | could induce the Sedan to
accept"
The amount was large, being equal to about
100000 of our money; but were it twice
large Reginald St Quintys would have will
ingly paid il for the redemption of his dear
brother.
He, therefore, without unnecessary loss of
time, set out to London in order to raise the
money; and at his urgent request, the palmer,
not without some show of reluctance, consent
ed To remain at Hornby Castle until Reginad's
return from London.
In those days the journey from Yorkshire
to the capital occupied from ten days to
fortnight And as it was calculated that it
would take about the same time to raise the
money and another fortnight or so to per-
form the journey back, period of about six
weeks was the least time allowed for the
accomplishment of the task which he had un-
dertaken.
Without encountering any adventure worth
recording, Reginald st. Quintys, with three
attendants, arrived in London and paid his
respects to his sovereign.
- St. Quintys," said the monarch, eve need
such men rs YOU. The times are unsettled.
Treason is abroad. False Normans are
Icaguing with disaffected Saxons, and our own
graceless brother Robert is at the head of the
foul contederacy against our power. We
therefore trust-We viii not, though We might,
say cOmmand-yOu to reside at our Court, to
await our pleasure until such time as this dan
ger has passed way"
Reginald had no alternative but to obey
and thus the date of his return to Hornby was
rendered quite uncertain. He lost no time
n scndiuG a trusty messenger to Yorkshire,
to inform his beloved lady of the command
which the king had laid upon him, and of the
cause of delay which he assured her was to
him almost impossible to bear.
We must now return TO the day after Regi-
maids departure for London.
The palmer, we have seen was entreated,
and had consented, to abide at HOrnDy until
its lords return; and as he had been recon-
mended to the utmost honor and respect on
the part of the lady, she scrupled not to make
him her companion at her meals, in her ram
bles, and during the evening hours, when she
would listen to his strange and wonderful ac-
counts Of his own and others adventures in
the Holy Land and in other PARKWAY coun-
tries. In her solitude, the lady of Hornbv
found the conversation of the palmer ex-
trcmely agreeable. Nor was his person caIcu-
/ lated TO counterfeit the impression which his
talk had made.
Day by day she imagined that she detected
signs of uoblguess and Of grace III his appear
ance and bearing; and what was still more
remarkable, She, much to her own aston.sh-
ment, began TO think that he was not 50 old
as she took him to be when she first saw him.
I On the night of his arrival At HOrnby Castle,
I the pilgrim looked an extremely aged man.
4 No one would have taken him for less than
/ seventy or seventy-tive and now, wonderful
/ to relate, he did not seem to be above forty
nay, he looked Younger than many do at
thirty, He also became much more attentive
u bis dress; and Ii was lot long before the
lady made the surprising discovery that he was
an accomplished cavaler-tor, on the occasion
of a beautiful and iIigh-mettled young Norman
horse being brOuL ht into the courtyard for
the purpose of being saddled for the first
time, not one of all the squires or grooms in
the household could keep his seat on the back
of the fiery stecd. At length the animal was
pronounced unmanageable, and no one was
bold enough to attempt the task Of breaking
/! him into the reius
Then it was that the palmer, who hith-
erto had watched the futile efforts of the be-
wildered squires, approached the steed, seiz-
ed the bride, looked into the horses eve,
whispered, OF seemed 10 whisper, something
into his ears, then placed his hands upon its
name, and, without availng himself of tt
stirrup. vaulted into the saddle with all the
grace of teathered Mercury, ana strange
To relate. the horse never once attempted to
get rid of MIN. but, on the contrary, was as
tame and manageable as the oldest steed in
the stable.
At length the curiosity of the lady could
not be restrained so one day, while they
were out ridiug-she mounted on the ident-
zeal steed 30 wonderfully tanned by the palm
er, who acted a. her squire-she expressed
TO him the establishment which the change in
his appearance, and also, as well his mvs-
terluus Influence over the horse, had filled
her
Then tie palmer smiled a significant smile,
and At the same time revealed a set of teeth
white - ivory. and perfect as that of any