The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1906-05-25
The Sword q the Crusader
fOriginal,1

Sir Godfrey Burgess, who was noted
both for his bravery and his piety. His
hatred of the infidel Turk was some
thing terrible. From first to last he
carried the same sword, one of those
immense weapons that have long ago
passed out of date. Every time Geof-
frey Burgess killed a Turk he filed a
notch on the blade Of this sword just
beneath the hilt. At the conclusion of
his campaigns there were nOtches Suf-
fcient to reach on both edges from the
hilt to the point.
Sir Godfrey returned from the sew
enth crusade and was making prepa-
rations for the eighth when he was
taken with a fever and died. He was
buried with great honors in the town
in which he had lived, and a fine
marble monument was placed by those
who revered him over his grave, sur
mounted by statue Of him.
Two hundred years after Sir Geof
frey's death Mohammed H., the great
sultan of the Ottomans, invested Con
stantinople, and after short siege the
cross which since the time of Co STAN
tine had surrounded the dome of st.
Sophia was replaced by the crescent.
On the very day Of this change q
storm swept over Sir Geoffrey's grave
and a bolt Of lightning rent his statue
in three pieces. Singularly enough,
they remained on the pedestal. 1t was
not doubted that the lightning was an
expression Of the old knights anger at
the fall of the Christian city, and the
fact that his statue remained erect
was taken as evidence of his infeXible
will.
Another century passed The cru
sades if unsuccessful in freeing the
holy sepulcher brought about COM
mercial intercourse between the west
and the east. There were Christian
merchants in Asia and Asiatic mer-
chants in Europe, but never was a
Turk seen in the town where Sir GeOf-
frey Burgess was buried. Some said
that the MOSlemS knew of his reputa-
tio1f and dared not profane it; others
that the shade of the holy man guarded
The knights sword was handed down
from father to son and at the close of
the fifteenth century, when Columbus
was trying to find passage around
the globe to India to facilitate the trad
ing in spices, hung in the hall of John
Burgess, a plain citizen, the title hav
ing been lost sight of. One day John
Burgess was sitting in his house when
the door opened and man came hur-
riedly in from the street He was q
very soldier!y looking man, wearing
an armOr not at all like that in fashion.
The invention of gunpowder was then
beginning to put armor aside, and what
was still used was plate, while the
stranger wore chain armor.
Sir" said the man in a dialect so
different from that used that Burgess
could scarcely understand him, ''have
you a weapon handy?" Burgess cast a
glance at the sword Of the crusader
| and asked:
For what purposeY'
But the stranger without reply went
to the wall where hung the sword and
taking it down, drew the blade from
the scabbard, ran his thumb over the
notches, thrust the steel back and with
both blade and 'scabbard started for
the door, handling the heavy weapon
like plaything.
Now, Burgess had often lifted this
heirloom and had found considerable
difficulty in doing so. When he had
hung it up on the wall he had been
obliged to call in a neighbor to assist
him. When he saw the stranger take it
down with one hand and carry it like
rapier he was astonished. Indeed he
was SO startled by the sudden appear
ance with it's strange armor and fea-
lures that for time he sat not know
ing what to do. Presently curiosity
moved him, and he ran out after the
man who had borrowed his weapon.
He was nowhere to be seen. Burgess
ran down the street and, turning cor
! ner, came upon the body Of a man Of
swarthy countenance lying on his
back, and standing up from the body,
| like shaft to mark it, was the sword
of Sir Godfrey Burgess
A crowd soon gathered, including the
watch. Burgess, who had first come ON
the ground, told his story of the stran-
| ger taking his sword, but he was not
! believed. The watch took him into
! custody, and he was thrown into pris-
on to await trial for murder.
The case was SO plain against him
that his counsel undertook it half
! heartedly, and when a stranger came
| into town who said he was an advo-
cate and offered to defend the accused
Burgess gave it into his hands. The
! advocate called for the body of the
murdered man to be brought into
| court, and when this was DONE plac-
| ing his hand in the hair, which was,
! black and matted. he drew out paper
| that had been concealed there Open
| ing It. he showed Arabic characters.