The New York herald., 1921-08-28
IE SKELETON IN ARMOR" STIRS DAMS SCEPTICISM
By DAN CAREY.

THE SKELETON IN ARATOR. Henry Wads-
worth Longfelow. Cambridge, Mass.
Dappleton Sons, New York
T HIS seems to be a yarn that is told by
a young fellow who engaged sui;
OF armor in conversation. 1t might
be well to state at the outset that we take
the whole thing with a pinch of salt.
Frankly we do not believe that the conver-
sation took place at all. We have known
several highly respectable suits of armor in
our time and we are thoroughly convinced
that if any armor could talk they would have
done so, but as well we remember we
never did reach that state which led ur to be-
lieve that we We're being addressed.
Now it is true that we have a distinct
recollection of a young man of our acquain-
tance who wandered into museum one day
after having imbbed rather freely of that
which is no more theoretically speaking of
course), and he thought it was most anus
ing stunt 10 tip his hat to all the statues and
talk h The suits of armor. The guards, how
ever. threw him out of the place and he mar
rowiS escaped contact with the police de-
partment
Now il was different with this young chap
that Mr. Longfellow tells about 1t is not
announced that he had been drinking, al
though the thing is highly probable, because
he accused the suit of armor of attempting
to haunt him. and he demanded to know the
reason. At once the armor began to speak.
The first thing he said was to tell the young
fellow to write down what he was saying
unless he wanted to hear a dead man curse
him. or course 1t is easy to imagine that
the suit of armor was given very close atten-
ton after that.
armor had been somewhat of man in his
day; that is, if he was not exaggerating.
thing which even ghosts will do sometimes
when they begin talking of themselves
After declaring himself TO be a Viking he
passes q few complimentary remarks about
the character of the skating he used to do.
announces himself to have been bear
hunter, rabbit chaser. q tracker of wolves
and general all around sportsman.
The chances are that there were no game
laws in those days. If a man now boasts
about the amount of game he has killed the
wardens shoe him into the calaboose and
have him indicted by the Grand Jury.
We have a friend named Dave Gillespie
down South who is not only hunter but
one of the kind that insist upon boastng
about the days kill Season before last he
crossed over the line into South Carolina.
where the laws are little different and
stricter than the Georgia laws. He had a
fairly well filled game bag, his gun was
on his shoulder and merry tune was being
whistled out of happy lips. A man stopped
him.
"Been hunting?" he inquired
yep" answered Dave.
xiii much?"
XIII much? Say it was shame the way
I slaughtered them. Got a whole game bag
full"
do you know who I amp" inquired the
man.
NO answered Dave.
"Well I am the game warden of this
county"
That's all right" said Dave after reflect
ing minute. do you Know who I amp"
NO" answered the game warden.
We'll, I am the biggest liar in this county"
The warden believed him and Dave escaped
the hands of the law.
Well, as we were saying, they probably
didn't have game laws during the lifetime
OF this suit of armor and therefore he could
AFFORD TO boast of what he had killed.
After he grew up he seems to have become
a sort of pirate, and he does a lot more
Dragging about the hearts that bled and the
souls that sped at the orders of his crew
OF course old King Hildebrand objected ia
him as a son-in-law and refused to issua
the invitations to the wedding between this
suit of armor and the young Princess. We
do not blame the old King at all. 1t seems
to us that he adopted exactly the proper
course for the protection of his daughter
OF course King Hildebrand was needessly
severe about II. He just gave loud laugh