Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1850-07-16


adjusting the affair, but Hcrnc disdalniul
.ly rejected the offer, and growing boldcl
insisted that the seducer should cspousI
his victim.
At this. the merrimcnt was rcdouhlcd
even the king laughed as loud rs tho rest
but quickly composing his features, he
with mock gravity, said:
I" Hcrne the hunter, even if it were
now demonstrated to our sovereign us
lice that the Earl of Oxford has been gull
ty of gricvous wrongs on his part, and
that your love has listened too atcntvcIy
to his bold suit, | could not force him to
contract the union which YOU desire, be-
cause he is married already"
At these words the hunters counte-
nance fell, and he gnashed his teeth fear
| fully together. a species OF CONFUSION
agitared his whole frame ; but making i
strong effort, he subducd his emotion,
and approaching Alice, cntrcatcd her to
90 with him, and he would be TO her faith
cr, brother, or husband. The girl could
not speak, but her rejection of the oIlcr
was evident, for she turned from him and
wept. lIcrnc became deadly pale, and
exclaimed:
"Mv poor Alice is lost--irrccoyerably
Ilost--and the king will grant me no rcPa-
ration but can tel you, Richard of
England, and you, proud mobiles, the day
is at hand when you will ask for justice
for mercy, and find it not in the realm
of England. As for thee, Oxford, shall
live to see thee a fugitive and a avagabond; 4;
and thou, mighty Norfolk, bcggar, cNil-
ed and ruined. Take my curse, king :;
thou hast denied me Justice, and | pur.
sue thee with my malcdiclion. The ma
ton groans under your iniquitics, and |,
as leader Of the people, defy You all
hate You, and will have revenge upon the
whole. Awayw he exclaimed, furiously,
dashing the cllcminatc De We're to the
earth, and at the same time plunged his
hunting knife deep into the bosom OF the
unfortunate being who had kindIed such
a fierce passion III his breast.
As he did so, he shouted: Die ! and
may thy dishonorPcrsh with thee Thy
babe shall be mine. Proud Boingbrokc,
we meet again -
SO saying, and snatching up the infant,
he disappeared.
The spectators or his horrid decd raised
cry; and the king shouted:
"PuIsuc the traitor; he hath hIas-
phcmed our majesty, and, fear me, de-
slroycd the laircsl flower in our forest.
The latter surmisG was too true. She
had gone to where her sins would be mcr-
ciGnlIy dealt with, although her blood
stained the green earth.
Finding assistance useless, the party
in sadness left the spot.
Bolingbrokc half muucrcd, rs he sTn-
tered i'll the rear: lie spoke right
cIcrl,Iy. and had brave spirit"
That night the hunter and the future
king met in secluded part of the forest,
and there IIcrne uuIodcd to the aspiring
noble the daring plan which he himself
had LONG murlurcd in his bosom. The ma
ton groancd under the oPposlIon and
maruc Of the court, and WIS prepared
for revolt in any shape. This lIcrnc,
who was familiar with the common pco-
pie, well knew; aad he also knew that
the doctrines of WickIillc had taken firm
root in the country, and only required a
little encouragement TO become the cstab-
Ilshcd belief of the people.
BoIiugbrokc listened TO all that was adj
dressed to him in profound silence, and
when they Parted, never TO meet again,
he felt like one in a dream, clulchng at a
golden prize rot quite within his reach.
Richard never saw the hunter again,
but the curse pronounced by him was
IcarfulIy fulfilled. In few years he was
a prisoner in gloomy fortress, and III
his lonely moments often thought Of the
bold hunter and the poor forest girl.
One night he dreamed, and i'll his slum-
bcrs saw how lcariuIIy the weight OF his
own folly fell OF The shoulders of his pco-
pie. Blood, a wide sea of blood rolled
before his vision on it came, and swept
away the boIdest and best of England 5
sons. When he awoke he shuddercd,
and, like one lost to himself, prayed hc
might die On the next day he was as
sassiua,cd, and from his death may be da-
Ted the commencement Of that long and
terrible struggle which history and the
glowing language of our mighty bard
have immoliaIized as the - Wars OF the
Roses"
TRADITION saycih that ITcrne eventually
hung himself on the oak which still bears
his name; but long afcrward. when the
contest between the Panlagenels ragged
icrcely, the soldiers, by their walch-fires,
fused 10 tell each other of demon warrior
who hung on the skirts Of the Iorklst ar
mics Ike dark cloud, and spread terror
and dismay among lie mighty host.
Whenever hc fought for Lancaster, the
Ircd rose triumphed: when absent from