Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-06-27

GOODNESS BETWEEN THE KING AND THE
ARCHBISHOP.
worn without change-rode up and
down the country seeking for maids in
distress. A pretty maid in those days
who lived on the main road could put
on her riding habit, go to the window
up stairs, shed tear, wave her kerchief
in the air and in half an hour have the
front lawn full of knights errant tramp
ing over the peony beds and castor oil
plants.
In this way new rescuer from day
to day during the "errant" season
might be expected. Scarcely would the
fair maid reach her destination and get
her wraps hung up when a rattle Of
gravel OH the window would attract her
attention, and outside she would see,
with swelling heart, another knight er-
rant, who crooked his Russia iron elbow
and murmured, miss, may I have the
pleasure of this escape with you?''
''But I do not recognize you, sir,
she would straightway make reply, and
well she might, for with his steel shod
countenance and corrugated iron clothes
he was generally so thoroughly incog
that his crest on q new shield freshly
painted and grained and bearing mot
to, was his only introduction. Imagine
a sweet girl who for years had been un-
der the eagle eye of a middleweight
chaperon suddenly espying in the NOON
light disguised man under the Win
dow on horseback in the act of asking
10 ;o,, Ii, g., n / l.:
shooting box in the swamp. Then, if you
please, imagine her asking for his card,
whereupon he exposes the side Of his
new tin shield, on which is painted in
large old English letters Latin motto
meaning, cit is the early bird that
catches the worm, " with bird rampant,
worm couchant ON field uncultivated.
Then, seating herself behind the
knight, she must escape for days and
even weeks, one escape seeming to call
for another, as it were. Thus, however,
the expense of a wedding was saved,
and the knight with the biggest chest
measurement generally got the heiress
with the copper colored hair.
He wore crest ON his helmet adorned
WIUl SCIlutth laNolS SlNCu It'll ny 1tttty
admirers, so that the crest of a popular
young knight often looked like slump
at the Bon Marche
The most peculiar condition required
for entry into knighthood was the "vig-
il of arms, which consisted in keeping
a long silent watch in some gloomy spot
"a haunted one preferred-over the
arms he was about to assume.
A tournament was sort of refined
equestrian prize fight with 100 ounce
jabbers, each knight, clad in tin foil and
armed cap-a-pie, riding in each others
direction Just as fast as possible, with an
uncomfortable desire to push ones ad-
versary off his horse, which meant de-
feat, because no man could ever climb q
horse in full armor without feudal
derrick to assist him.
The victor was entitled to the horse
and armor of the vanquished, which
made the castle paddock of a successful
knight resemble the convalescent ward
of the Old Horses home.
This tourney also constituted the pre-
vailing court of those times, and the
plaintiff, calling upon God to defend
the right, charged upon the defendant
with Il charge which took away the
breath of his adversary. This of course
was only applicable to certain cases and
could not be used in trials for divorce,
breach of promise, etc
The tournament was practically the
forerunner of the duel In each case the
partieS in effect tuIned the matter over
to Omnipotence, but still the man who
had his back to the sun and knew how
to handle firearms and cutlery generally
felt the most comfortable
Gentlemen who were not engaged in
combat, but who attended to the grocery
business during the Norman period,