Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-12-07

At buG ~ Vi ZUs AOTuudl SuiJ Was
made to her by Lieut.. Craddock Hamp-
den, the son of one of the wealthiest
gentlemen in St. Adams. The match
was a prosperous one, and without inn
pedimens; the young people were pas
s~ionately attached to each other, and
the parents favored the alliance. Arch
ibald Hampden spent much Of his time
at Sir William Richardson's honse. He
appears to have been a rather austere
Puritan, and no doubt connected with
the Hampden stock of W~arwickshire,
for he figured extensively in what were
known a. the "hop troubles" of that
year, taking sides vigorously against
the common people of the county and
himself leading a troop OF gentry
against q riotous gathering of the hop
pickers. Although these troubles were
speedily repressed, a great deal OF an
noyance was inflicted upon the land
owners for 6 long time after in revenge,
and no one ever suffered more than the
Hampdens. At this time, arose the
first stories of the ."White Woman of
| Watford." They we're regard
ed as the superstitious legions
of the common people gener-
ally, and NO special significance was
attached to them, until Sir Williams
barn was n night burned, and sever
al of the hop-picKers insisted that it
was set on fire by the "White Woman
of Watford," and then it WAS insisted
upon by the elder Hampden that 1T was
a convenient myth upon which these
people foisted their W mischief.
Others, however, with a love of mystery,
made patient inquiries long after con-
corning the white woman, and the re-
suits may be found in Sheldrake's "Le-
gend of st. Adams" Here we come
across the ghostly tradition of a beau
tiful spirit that walked the banks of the
| Wye at night. She was seen by belat-
ed travellers returning through the
wood that bordered the Richardson do
main, but she always vanished into thin
air on being discovered.
One summer night, the older Hamp-
den, while sitting in his Library with
his son, who had just ridden over from
Sir Williams, where he had spent the
evening with his intended bride, was
informed by his keeper that he had seen
the "Wnite Woman of Watford," and
that two of the ricks were burning.
With his usual promptitude the old man
mounted his horse and, accompanied by
his son and the keeper, all armed, set
out to punish the outlaws. They were
reinforced by Sir William on the way.
There was a full moon, but it was OBJ
scured at intervals with clouds. They
pursued the course of the Wye, which
is thickly wooded where it passes the
Hampden and Richardson Parks. On
reaching the valley at the loot of the
hills the keeper, while in 81 lonesome
place, swore that he saw the White
Woman, and warned them to 60 no
further. The irascible old trooper
rated him soundly for being a super
stitious p%oltroon, but no threats could
induce him to continue the hunt. His
words, as preserved by tradition, we're {:
"You're ightin' agip heaven, and the
blood will be on yo~urselves!"
The warning only served to still
further incense the Hampden, who be-
lieved neither in wraiths nor fairies,
and he swore to put a bullet into the
White Woman that would test her spir-
itual nature if he came across her.
They had not proceeded far when they
heard the sound of distant singing.
Dismounting, they crept through the
copse to the stream, and then picked
their way as noiselessly as possible along
its margin. All at once one of the party
uttered an exclamation and pointed
through the trees:
awe are b~ewitched," he said; "look
you!" The noon poured its silvery
light through the vista, and they say, or
thought they saw, the figure of a won
a n intermingling with the light as
though it had been born of it. Old
Hampden lifted his gun and fired. The
apparition vanished, nor could they dis
cover any traces of it. Satisfied that it
was in part an illusion, they set out to
return. They had not proceeded far,
before the figure reappeared. This
time it was at a greater distance, and
was leaning apparently against a tree.
They stood a moment dazed with it's
lustrous beauty; M only of the party
was unable to perceive any thing, and
he boldly denied its existence, and when
the other described it's position and
whereabouts he suddenly and defiantly
discharged his heavy weapon at it. AS
he did so the moor disappeared, and
they we're in darkness. They were,
however, reinforced almost Immediate
ly by a number of the peasantry at
tracted by the noise of their guns. Ali
the gentlemen were now in favor of
abandoning what they believed a wild
goose chase. Not so Hampden; he
alone insisted upon clearing up what he
declared had been too long a mystery
and a nuisance to the country. Form
ing the men into two parties, which
were to converge from opposite sides of
the stream a half-mile lower down, they
set out once more. Another incident,
however, modified the leaders, plan,
and added to the d~isinclination
of the men to 60 on. When they
returned to their horses it was found
that the animal which had been ridden
by the elder Hampden had broken loose
and disappeared, in consequence of
which the gentleman was forced to con-
tinue the hunt on foot, which he did at
the head of the villagers. About half
q mile down the. stream was q ford: the