The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-12-12
KNIGHT AND PILGRIM

My ancestor was q knight and the
owner of vast realms. His domains in
sluded several small towns, great forests
and farms and other gilt edge col
lateral, and his vassals were numbered
by hundreds.
The management Of his real estate
he left to IN agent, who doomed 1t to
his lords advantage, while my ances-
Tor spent his time in ~tourneying and
ether knightly diversions, rescuing fe-
males in distress, storming castles and
drinking wassail With tho other lords
when in funds.
He was a man of medium height,
who wore eyeglasses and sandy whis-
kers, but when he was inside of his
Damascus inlaid suit of chilled steel
armor he was a person of imposing ap-
p~earance, and he had a deep, bass voice,
which gave its hearers a lasting impress
sion of his greatness.
In battle he was a terror. Many were
the infdels who bit the dust before his
two handed sword, and many were the
trophies of the field stacked up in his
castle. He was fond of riding unat-
tended through his domains and feeling
the public pulse, as ii were, and in this
name met with many adventures we'll
worth recording. In an old black let
ter manuscript, dated 1246, there is an
account of one of these adventures,
which | have rendered into modern Eng
Rsh. and goes to show how the life of
. knight of old was subject to strange
ricissitudes.
He was riding through a forest one
day, when his steed suddenly reared
and threw my ancestor to the ground
with a dull thud. The knight, incum-
bered by his weighty armor, was unable
10 rise when he recovered from the
shock, but he managed to crawl to the
roadside and brace himself up against
"a tree. Ii was a lonely road, and few
people traversed it. Thus he lay two
days without food or drink, unable to
get out of his I'm or walk home. On
the morning of the third day, a man
In shabby garb approached with slow,
ieisurely steps. Coming up to my an
cestor, he halted in surprise, and then
opening the grating in the knights
visor he said:
"Hellol Hello!"
My ancestor replied:
Good morrow, friend. pray thee
give me food and drink, or | perish"
Who are you and what are you do
ing here?" auoth the man.
My ancestor informed him of his name
and station, repeating his request fol-
~sustenance and concluding by inquir
ing his savior's name.
II am Aimless Walker, the pilgrim, ,
he replied, Just from the Holy LAM
On foot, but | have no fodder for you
Yet methinks," he mused, that i N {
distant farmyard | espied a wheeibar
row left by some careless yokel. Hith
er will | HE Inc. and in two shakes vii
1 return to thee and tlundle thee to tn,
castle"
So speaking, he hied and i'm a shor
time returned with the barrow. First
however, he removed the knights he'll
met, and filling it with water at a sprin,
near by he brought the warrior drink
which cheered him nightly. Then
placing him in the barrow, he began Il
trundle him along the road toward TIL
far distant town. They cheered tn
weary way by reciting their strange ad
ventures to each other, and my ancesto
has recorded in his diary that he neve
xnet a more cheerful and yariegated liza
in all his travels, and he was no slouc
himself. II rs said.
Toward moon Aimless grew fatigued
and stopping suddenly he said:
What do | get out of this anyway?
why. fellow, quoth the knight, j
II not enough to know that thou al
serving thy lordf'
lord. nothing said Walker. '.Pe,
kaps you are not aware that / m the il
yentor OF the existence without lab
system and high archchancellor of IL
lodge OF Knight of the Road?
serikes me that I'm getting 1t whe,
lark got the mumps-in the neck.
Hurry on" replied my ancesto