Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-12-14
KNIGHT AND PILGRIM

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My ancestor was a 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 tourneying and
other knightly diversions, rescuing fe-
males in distress, storming castles and
drinking wassail with the 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 person of imposing ap-
pearance, and he had deep, bass voice,
which gave its hearers lasting impress
sion of his greatness.
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 well
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
lish, and goes to show how the life Of
a knight of old was subject to strange
vicissitudes.
He was riding through 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 lay two
days without food or drink, unable to
get out of his armor or walk home. On
the morning of the third day, man
in shabby garb approached with slow,
leisurely 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 inquir-
ing his savior's name.
II am Aimless Walker, the pilgrim,
he replied, Just from the Holy Land
on foot, but l have no fodder for you.
Yet methinks. " he unused, that in a
distant farmyard l espied a wheelbar-
row left by some careless yokel. Hith-
er will HE me, and in two shakes will
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 knights he'll
met, and filling 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 ad-
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, is
it 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 Road2 1t
strikes me that I'm getting it where
Mark got the mumps-in the neck"
Hurry on" replied my ancestor,
'or darkness will again befall US ere
we reach my CASTLE
"If you were out of those iron gar
ments and did little walking yourself,
the job would be easier" said Walker,
and suiting the action to the words he
turned the knight over, and with mon
key wrench which the warrior wore he
began to undo his armor.
In few minutes the knight appear
ed in his buckskin pajamas, and Walker
was surprised to find him such small
and in fact insignificant person. See
ing that he outclassed him when he was
out Of his armor, he began to bully
him. and finally he compelled my an
cestor to wheel the barrow, loaded as it