New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-11-29
KNIGHT AND PILGRIM

MY ancestor was knight ana the
owner of vast realms. His domains in
cluded 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 an agent, who doomed it to
his lords advantage, while my ances-
tor spent his time in tourneying and
other knightly diversions, rescuing fe-
males in distress, storming castles and
drinking wassail with the other lords
when in funds.
He was 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 person of imposing ap-
pearance, and he had deep, bass voice,
which gave it's hearers lasting impress
sion of his GREATNESS.
i In battle he was 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 it were, and in this
manner met with many adventures we'll
worth recording. In ali old black let
ter manuscript, dated 1916, there is an
| account of one of these adventures,
which have rendered into modern Eng
fish, and goes to show how the life Of
knight of old was subject to strange
vicissitudes.
He was riding through a forest one
day, when his steed suddenly reared
and threw my ancestor to the ground
with dull thud. The knight, incum-
bered by his weighty armor, was unable
to rise when he recovered from the
shock, but he managed to crawl to the
roadside and brace himself up against
tree. 1t was lonely road, and few
people traversed it. Thus he ley two
days without food or drink, unable to
get out of his armor 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:
Hello! 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?' quoth the man.
My ancestor informed him of his name
and station, repeating his request for
sustenance and concluding by inGuir-
ing his saviors name.
IL am Aimless Walker, the pilgrim, :"
he replied, Just from the Holy Land
on foot, but have no fodder for you.
Yet methinks, - he unused, THAT in
distant farmyard | espied wheelbar-
row left by some careless yokel. Hith-
er will HE me, and in two shakes will
l return to thee and trundle thee to thy
castle.''
So speaking, he hied and in a short
time returned with the barrow. First
however, he removed the k1ilwfr1's i.ei.
met, and filing it with water at spring
near by he brought the warrior drink,
which cheered him nightly. Then,
placing him in the barrow, he began to
trundle him along the road toward the
far distant town. They cheered the
weary way by reciting their strange adj
ventures to each other, and my ancestor
has recorded in his diary that he never
met more cheerful and variegated liar
in all his travels, and he was no SLOUGH
himself, it is said.
Toward noon Aimless grew fatigued,
and stopping suddenly he said:
What do get out of this anyway?''
Why, fellow, quoth the knight, lis
it not enough to know that thou art
serving thy lord?''
Lord, nothing!'' said Walker. per
haps you are not aware that Pm the in
ventor of the existence without labor
system and high archchancellor of the
lodge of Knights of the Road? Il
strikes me that I'm getting it where
Mark got the mumps in the neck
" Hurry on, : replied my ancestor,
JEst5B5.Sss