Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1890-08-16

As lAcy went uOWn tue dlSn street the
King said to the beggar: "Where wilt
thou that set thee downs"
To which made answer the other
may, but rather where wilt thou that
set thee downf"
Thou art saucy varlet," quoth the
King; land it would be using thee no,
insecurity were to pitch thee off nv
horse into the tunnel there by the side OF
US
HAST thou the face to call it thv
horeef' quoth the beggarman. Thou
shameless thing. thou knowest well the
horse belongs to me-
THY horse1' shouted the King.
"Ay' mine, said the beggar
eve will see about that, J" said the
King.
eve truly will, said the beggar, and
with that lie made loud outcry, calling
aloud Thief. thief so that thew
who passed by stopped and, wondering
at the noise, asked who might be the
thief, and in what the beggar, who was
foreigner to them all, had been wrongel
Then both the beggar and the King
told each his tale Nov the tale of the
b.ggar was in this wise Tha' be, rid
ing toward the town Of Reading, had
met the King. albeit he knew not, no,
did the Reading men, that he was king,
but thought him simple wayfarer, and
seeing he was afoot and weary, had Of
fered 20 him to ride before him on his
horse ''Thc which, said the ber~a1,
"does he now, witIl foul threats anl cv
knocks, try to take BY ;ofce from me
saying it is his own, though it is plain to
be seen that | am old and weak and he is
young and lrsty.'
And after the King had told his truth
full tale, how that it was he who. had
been riding toward the town and had in
kindness set the beggar behind him and
helpen him on his way with but scurvy
payment for his pains, the men of Read
ing were sore beset in their minds as to
which of the twain might be the truth
teller and which the liar. After some
had talked this way and some that, an
elder among them said: "Let us hale
them both and also the horse before Ce-
dric, our doomsman, ana he will tell US
which we shall believe
Nothing 10th was the King, nor did
the beggar dare to say them nay, and so
it came to pass that in no great while
they stood before Cedric, the son Of
! IIend, in the church yard where his seat
was But they were not the first com
ers and so had to wait until two trials
had been held. The first was a quarrel
between scrivener and a hedger con-
corning woman The scrivener said that
she was his wife and had been taken
from him by the hedger; and the
hedger indeed said no; that she had al
WAYS been his wife, and that the scrive-
ner had no lawful right to her. The
woman said nothing, whereat all mar
yeled When each had told his tale,
Cedric pondered and said: ''Leaye the
woman here and return each of you on
The morrow and they went away leav-
ing the woman.
Next came fesher and miller, the
miller holding in his hand a sum of
money. ~ went, said he, sat noon to
he feshcr to buy meat for my house
hold and when the time came for me tc
pay him, drew from my pouch these
.oins of silver, the which when the flesher
.aw, he made as if to clutch, and took
me by the wrist. so that both Of us are
cow come before you, l holding my sill
yer and he clutchlng my wrist. lie says
the silver is his; l say it is mine. Ie
10 make oath that to rue and not tx
him does it belong
Then said the fesher:
NAY, but this man lies. He came Z
nv house as he says, but that is all tn
truth there is in his tale. When he hat
taken his meat hs asked me whether
had silver TO give him in place of gol'
roin. 'Av,' quoth I, and laid out on m
aeshing block handful of silver coins
which, when he saw, he caught up wit
his hand and 50 was making off when
,lutched him by the wrist and hailed hr
. before thee. our doomsman. To this wi
. | make oath and say that he, the miller
is q rogue and rascal whiles | am an VI
, right man, and the rightful owner of th
silver
, And when the doomsnan asked it {
them each Of the twain. the fesher an