The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-12-05
KNIGHT AND PILGRIM

My ancestor was Il knight and 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 tourncying and
other knightly diversions. rcscuing fc-
males Ill distress, stolIning castles and
drinking wassail with the other lords
when in funds
He WAS man of medium height.
who wore eyeglasses and sandy wills
kers, but when he was inside of his
Damascus inlaid suit of chilled steel
ar1nor he was Il person of imposing ap-
pearancc, and he had Il deep, bass voice,
which gave its hearers Il lasting impress
sion of his greatness.
In battle nc was II terror. Many were
the infdels who bit the dust before his
two handed sword, and many were the
trophies Of the field stacked ND 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 an old black let
ter manuscript, dated 1916, there is an
account of one of these adventures.
which have rendered into modern Eng
llsh, and goes to show how the life of
knight of old was subject to strange
viciSsitudcs.
He was riding through forest one
day, when his stccd suddenly reared
and threw my ancestor to the ground
with Il dull thud. The knight, inculn-
bercd 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 Il lonely road, and few
people travcrsed it. Thus he lay two
days without food or drink, unable to
get out of his ar1nor or walk home On
the morning of the third day, a man
i'll shabby g;rb approached with slow,
leisurcly steps. Coming up to my an
cestor, he halted in surprise, and then
opening the grating in tho knights
visor he said:
Hello! Hcllo!'
My ancestor replied
Good morrow, friend. / pray thee
give mo food and drink, or perish"
Who are you and what arc you do
ing here:' qnoth the man.
My ancestor informed him of his name
and station, repeating his request for
sustenance and concluding by inquir-
ing his saviOr's 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 a
distant farlnyard l espicd wheelbar-
row left by some careless yokel. Hith-
Ell will HE me, and i'll two shakes will
I return to thee and trundle thee to thy
castle"
So speaking, he hied and III short
time returned with the barrow. First,
however, he removed the knights he'll
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 l get out of this anyway"
why, fellow, "quoth the knight, is
1t not enough to know that thou art
serving thy lord?"
Lord, nothing!" said Walker. Per
haps you are not aware that I'm the in
ventor of the existence without labor
system and high archchancellor of the
lodge of Knights of the Road? 1t
strikes me that I'm getting it where
Mark got the mumps-in the neck. y
Hurry on replied my ancestor,