The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-10-26
When the Good Knight Died,

!
The good knight lay dead in his cham
Der, and /. who had been his faithful
| friend and servant ever = we were
boys together, felt that an evil day
! had come upon US all. Outside his lady
love sat upon her palfrey, attended by
her tire-woman and the chirurgeon, VII.
| had long loved both her and her lover
She could not bring herself 10 believe
| that her dear knight was dead, the LADY
/ Felicia, though she had been riding @itn
him when his hunters unhappy stun be
| had thrown him to sudden death and
| although il was she who had gone flying
| to the cflirurgeon for aid The shock Of
| the awful happening had stunned her
senses, as it seemed. and he could only
moan and wall softly, and beg for nm
! TO be brought to her. To make matters
| worse her father, the Lord Arundel, was
! expected home from the wars that even
ing, and he would be sore displeasad if
| he knew she mourned for my good lord
| and master
The good knight AthewoId had been
| poor of purse and land, although pass
! ing rich in all else, and the Lady Fe-
licia's father would have her wed an
other mana man with a colder heart,
but a heavier money Golfer. It was to
save her from her fathers stern anger
that the chirurgeon hal accompanied her
to the castle where the good knight lay
dead
"If she sees his dead body she will
weep" he said to me, pityingly, land if
she weeps then will her senses be saved
and her woman's heart somewhat COM
forted. But if she weeps not, 1 fear me
| much that her senses will leave her"
Get the other serving folk out Of the
wayy' he said 20 me further, for 1t
must not be bruted about that the Lady
Felicia had visited a knight in his cas-
| tie, even to lock upon his dead face. So
!, by inventing romaunt about some
junketings in the village, had speedily
cleared the castle of all save old Goody
Blake and myself. Goody Blake loved
the Lady Felicia dearly, as did I also.
and not entirely because of our lord and
master. Her sweet face and winning
ways made every one love her And now
she sat still upon her palfrey while the
good ohirurgeon with old Goody and her
own tire-woman vainly besought her to
enter and look upon the dead knight S
face
He is not dead: ne cannot be-" she
kept repeating, poor lady; but a day
or two agone he rode with me. Why
should I look upon a dead man who is
not hep"
She fears to find him dead, for then
she must believe it," the chirurgeon told
me, in an aside yet must she be over
persuaded into seeing him, for 1 would
not have her father see her in this
guise."
So we by and by persuaded her TO ac-
company US, and in the end we led her
the chirurgeon and 1 supporting her on
each side, and the tire-woman following
close behind with a cordial-for the poor
lady had grown weak with the shock
and grief-up the stairway and into the
turret chamber, where the knight Law
dead. And even at the door she stood
still and would not enter, although her
trembling form betrayed her, that she
mistrusted whose form it was that lay
upon the bier. But by and by she took a
step forward, of her own seeking, and
then it was that she wept.
The good knights dog had gone sleep
less and hungry ever since mis- master
left him, three days agone. He sat now,
close drawn up to the bier. his head
reaching up to lick the mailed, dead
hand of his master. He whined softly
when / by a show of violence, would
have driven him away but he would not
stir for all my threatening. And the
Lady Felicia, first touching the dogs
head caressingly, laid her hand, present
ly, upon the cold hand which the dog
was caressng. And when she felt the
icy chill of it, even through the mail,
she wept as bitterly as even the chirur-
geon would have had her.
"She will be better now he said, muir
muringly, to me.
so you are really dead, mine own
knight" mourned the Lady Felicia, pres
emily, as they led her tenderly away,
land I shall never more see thee in life,
Then will l be dead also. The maid you
knew will never live again.
And she spoke the truth. For when
she recovered from the severe fever
which shortly overlook her, she was
never the same maiden as she had been.
And although she has been long married
to the man of her fathers choice and
the good knight is forgotten. seemingly
by all save the chirurgeon and myself. my
good masters dog has never left her,
and she likes not to see her husband
lay even friendly hands upon him.