Not so funny....

I'm still loving A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but today I got to a part that surprised me. For once, I wasn't laughing.  The Boss and the King are traveling across England dressed as commoners.  The King is pretty terrible of acting normal, but he finally sees real suffering when they stop at a house for him to attempt his communication skills.  Instead of a nice chat, they discover a woman lying on the ground, dying of small pox.  Her husband and daughter have died of the same disease, she has no idea if the other daughter who is just upstairs is alive, and her two sons are locked in a prison in the baron's home for a crime they did not commit.  For the first time, the King is exposed to the true horrors of his country.  Instead of fleeing, he waits with the Boss, delivering the remaining family members water until they die.  Just as they leave the home, the two sons arrive home, having escaped from the mansion.  To the Boss's dismay, instead of mourning what the boys will discover once they go inside, the King states that they should be recaptured since the lord has a right to hold prisoners.  After all that suffering, he still does not understand.  They continue on their way and discover something even worse.  The baron has been killed and, though the people living in the town hate the deceased man, they are going around hanging people for the murder based solely on suspicion.  The scene described is tragic and sad, speaking of man's inhumanity towards man.  A very different tone from the rest of the book.  Its sad, but profound.  I think as I keep reading it will be funny again, but that was an interesting wake up call.