The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1914-08-06
Modem
Chivalry
By DONALD cHAMBERI-IN

was SlLlAuS OH lue pOICu Will
Farmer Griggs, while his daughter
Philena, surrounded by group of chill
dren, was reading to them stories OF
the age Of chivalry. Her father and
could hear her, and while she read
how Sir Somebody charged upon Sil
Somebody Else in contest for the
Lady What's-her-nanne l noticed that
the farmers eye Lit up, and he seemed
to be rapt in Renaissance.
"They don't do SIGH things now that
Away" he said when the story was
finished, but it's jist as material for
men to fight for women today as ii
was then. But they're ginirally young
fellers, and the gals is young too.
had a scrap like that when | was a
younker. l hearn one day that there
seven miles down the road. After sup
per 1 started to walk it"
What" | interrupted, walk seven
miles, dance all the evening and walk
seven miles back!"
'Oh, l didn't mind little thing like
that then. | was young and tough.
needed to keep my muscles active;
there was so much vim in 'em. When
I got to the barn some fiddlers was
putin some boards on barrels to make
music for the people to dance. While
they was tunin' up the dancers was
comm in.
Purity soon they began to dance, but
didn't know any O. the gals. and
was afeared to ask 'em to dance with
me- After awhile a black eyed gal.
seem that l was left out in the cold.
said to me- smilin', why don't you
dance? and l says, Cause l don't
know nobody to dance with And she
says, Won't 1 dor And l says, You
bet put my arm around her waist,
and we spun around that barn floor
like hywheel Of a cuttin' machine
with the beltin' off.
when the music stopped we went Off
into dark corner and set till it com;
menced ag'in. axed the gal if she
would dance with me some more, and
she said she didn't mind We was
gittin' up to start off when Teller
came up and said the gal was engaged
to him for that dance. She said she
didn't remember any engagement with
him, so put my arm around her, and
we sailed away.
Not wishin' to take up the hull of
her time. when the dance was over
told her would go and get cup O.
water-jist for an excuse. you know
though would have liked to stay with
her the rest of the evenin'. l hadn't
gone far before the Teller that said the
gal was engaged to dance with him
come up to me, and he said. says he:
"'See here, mister if you want to
monopoIize the belle O this yere coun
ty you got TO fight for her.
"I don't want to monopolize any
one.' says I, 1eastways any one that
don't want to be monopolized. but I
don't want none o. your sass
''That want exactly like Sir Some
thing or Other in the story would put
it, but meant jist what he did. The
Teller didn throw down his mailed
glove, neither. but he was sp'ilin' for
a fight. and first thing | knOwed he
give me jaw breaker. Then some
of the managers O. the ball that was
standin' by interfered and said we
couldn't fight there; we must go out
side. So we went out, and all the men
foIlered u.s. The gals, findin' their
selves without the men, thort they
might as well see the fun. and they
come out too.
'oThe moon was full that night and
shone like a big round silver dollar. |
The Teller was to fght-they called |
five feet eight. If the gal he was to
fight for was the belle O. the county
he was the bully. He'd licked every man
he could get to fight him Just as that Sir
hat-d'ye-call-him in the story had
vanquished all the other knights. l
wasn't so big as he was, but 1 was all
fired tough. My arms was like Wild
cats fore legs. When I seen the gals
gatherin' around 1 looked for the one
that the fight was about saw her
standin' with her face squared to the
moon, and she give me a smile that
put enough vim in me to tackle a
grizzly.
Il couldn't give you much of an &C
count of the fight cause it was TWEEN
ty-five years ago and rough and tum-
bic scrap anyway. Didn't neither of
us know how to box, and we just
slammed at each other like two wind
mills whose wings had got mixed from
bein' too close together, Onct in awhile
when l felt discouraged under sledge
hammer blow the Teller got in on me
I'd look for a smile from the girl
Shed give me one. and I'd start in
agin purity nigh as fresh as ever.
THE big Teller was more ponderous-
like than me, but he didn't have my
steel muscles, and he didn't have my
wind After awhile he began to
breathe kind o hard. and at last he
was hittin' wild was as fresh as
ever, and when | saw he was givin'
out | jist waited awhile till he got
well tuckered, then landed q blow on
his jaw that sent him sprawlin' on
the dirt
Just then rooster tux it into his
head to crow in the middle O the
night. and everybody larfed We went
into the barn. the fiddlers struck up.
AMI | danced with the gal I'd fought
fer"
What became of her?" | asked.
-'She's in the kitchen there boilin'
do1lghnuts.'
''Oh. ! see! Quite a romance"
.'Not rnIIch like than tournovtnantS
but really the same thing after ALL