The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-01-07
King Henry ana the Miller.

1t has been all the fashion with
story-teilers and ballsd-makers to rep
resent fsvOrite kings as putting or
various disguises, and playing clever
good-humored jokes upon the hum
I bIest of their subjects. Nearly all O
the English kings are so represented
and there were no stories that the
people loved better to tell than these
They were the old Christmsa stories
told by the Ynle-log in the bleak old
days of the English barons. when
swords and helmets were thick and
books were few. Thus we have the
tales of King Henry VIII, and the
Miller of Dee; Of good Duke Philip o.
Burgundy and Sly, the Tinker; oi
James I, and the Tinker of William
III. and the Forester, and 81
all through the reigns of the Scottish
James and English Georges. Some
of these stories were fiction, like that
of
@OId King Cole,
That jolly old sO1l"
But most of them were true. The
wandering harpers used to relate them
in verse and as delightful SIS the
bringing in of the Yule log and the
mistletoe, the fiery sport OF ''snaI
DRAGON" or the rollicking play ol
''blind mans buff" were the holiday
tales of the funny dOings of these
merry old English kings.
One of the oldest of these ballad
stories relates to King Henry and the
Miller, and starts off briskly with:
Henry, our royal king. Konldnde a hunt
To The green forests 50 pleasant and fair"
The forest was Sherwood, where once
lived Robin Hood and his merry men.
King Henry (Plantagenet) was young
then, and he took with him a great
retinue of young princes aud mobiles.
So the horses cantered over the hills
of Nottingham, and plume after
plume danced out Of sight among the
green leaves. The King separated
himself from the gay party, and DASH
ed off with spirit into the heart of the
forest.
At last the day began to decline,
and the shadows grew long and thick
i'm all the forest. The King blew his
horn. There was no answer. He was
lost.
He rode on. As the forest grew
dark, he heard the flow of water, and
discovered a cool stream just reflect
ing the light of the rising moon.
Presently he heard 3 mill-wheel.
Then his heart took courage. He soon
refined his horse before the door of the
mill.
"Good miller" said the King, "is
this the road to Nottingham ?n
''I guess you know as well as }"
answered the miller. "You look as
though you had been there before"
"WhO do you take me for ?'' asked
the King in astonishment.
"For some gentleman thief or 9TH
er no honest man, sure"
"But / must lodge with you to-
night. have gold at hand"
At the word 'gOld," the miller be-
gan to prick up his ears. Just then
the miller's wife-a large, fat. brawl-
ing wOman-loOked over her hus-
bands shoulder. She, too, heard the
word 'gOld," but was still cautious.
She delighted in the sweet name of
Bymytroth. No one delights in that
name now.
care you sIre-that you are no runa-
way ?" piped BymytrOth.
ar am no runaway" said the King.
"Then show US your passport" said
Bymytroth, who had a very logical
turn of mind.
"From whom ?"
"From the King ~
The King had no passport, but still
finding Bymytroth suspicious and
defiant, he began to flstter her, and
he bowed so very politely that she
was at last induced to say:
"You may come inn
Bymytroth became very much
pleased with the King, so much so
that she told him that, il he was tidy
enough, he might sleep with her own
son.
''If the King would never hear OF it,
1 would get you some venis0n for sup
per-" said Bymytroth. 1--WE do rob
the Kings forest of venison some
times. Will you promise ?n
Yes on my word7 sald the htugi
"the King shall never know any
more about it than he knows now"
The King was very hungry after
his anxiety and long ride, and as his
poor, weak human nature was~quite
like that of some other men whose
heads were never toppled with q
crown, he made a large supper of the
unlawful venisOn.
"You will never tell about this ?"
said the cautious Bymytroth, looking
keenly at her guest.
"The King shall be none the wiser
for this from me-" said the King,
looking very profound.
With this strong assurance, By
mytroth slept very comfortably that
night, but was awakened in the morn
ing by a right royal retinue at the
door. The miller and his wife then
began shaking and qusking," to use
the graphic language of the old song,
and the poor miller kneeled down and
shut his eyes, wesuppose, in order to
decently make his last prayer. But
how charmingly it all ends the
King,
sHis kind courtesy for 70 requite.
Gave him a living and dubbed him knight"
The above story was in its day very
popular, because the game laws of
at that time were very Sc
we're and hard on the poor. 1t show
ed what the King himself would do
when he was hungry, and it seemed
a concession to the cause of the suff-
ering poor.-S. Nicholas, for jan
UGry.